Folklore Book Review: The Paper Bag Princess

Folklore Book Review: The Paper Bag Princess

Folklore

Title: The Paper Bag Princess

Author: Robert Munsch

Publisher: Annick Press

Copyright date: February 1, 1992

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Awards: Gold Award Winner, National Parenting Publications Awards Our Choice List, and Canadian Children’s Book Centre Silver Birch Express Award Nomination.

Reading Level: Reader Sr. “I am doing it all by myself”

Generally appropriate for 2^nd Grade to 4^th Grade. Books at this level are appropriate for the now confident reader who can handle more text on the page and more in depth character development.

Lexile: 740L

Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction, Folklore

Summary:

Elizabeth, a beautiful princess, is all set to marry Prince Ronald until a dragon smashes her castle, burns her clothes with his fiery breath and kidnaps the prince, Ronald. She throws on a large paper bag and sets off to find the dragon and rescue her cherished prince. What is her plan once she finds the dragon? What will she do to get her prince back? Is Prince Ronald the right guy for her?

Academic Purpose:

This book emphasizes folklore and is a great read aloud book to get students acting in the classroom and understanding the characteristics of what is a good friend. In the classroom I would ask students the characteristics of what a good friend is and what a bad friend is. Then, I would introduce the book, “The Paper Bag Princes”. After reading the story, I would ask students some comprehension questions to assess their understanding of the story. The teacher can pick a few quotes from the book that illustrate traits about a character or two and discuss them with the students.

Then, the students will practice acting like different characters from the story. The teacher can assign students different character roles, and to help them get into character the teacher may ask questions such as, how would they act if you were the Dragon? Prince Ronald? Or Princess Elizabeth. This is a great way to check for listening comprehension and build up literacy. Then, for the fun part! Students can create their own paper bag costume. The teacher also can help them create paper bag crowns for princes and princesses. Lastly, have the students reenact the story, which will strengthen the students’ comprehension, language, speaking and listening skills, and literacy skills.

After role playing, another activity the class could engage in is storyboard posters. The teacher can divide the class into groups. Each group can have different sets of pictures from the story. For each picture, the students will write sentences that summarize what is happening in the story, using their own words. When students are done they can display their section of the story on poster board and display them in the classroom. (This lesson may have to be a two day lesson!)

Rating System:

Categories:	5 Stars	3 Stars	1 Star	Comments
Style and Language	The book anticipates readers’ questions and uses great word choice for the age targeted. It has linear progression and communicates its point clearly.	The book follows a linear progression, with some unclear points. The word choice is okay.	The book is confusing as it doesn’t follow a linear progression at all. The vocabulary in the book is either too simple or too complex for the age group targeted.	This book uses great word choice for the age targeted. There is many vocabulary words such as, expensive, fiery, and knocker. The books style and language creates a great book for beginning independent readers. This book communicates its point clearly about a folklore story and has a linear progression for a storyline.   5 stars
Plot and Character Development	The plot is in depth and helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The character development is strong.	The plot is okay. The book is organized with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters are well developed.	The book is confusing and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, or end.	This book does have a plot, which creates a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The ending is very abrupt, the reader may be looking for more information. I didn’t enjoy the ending. 3 stars
Interest	The book holds real life situations which draw the reader in. The word choice and story hold the reader’s attention. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book holds little interest and draws the reader in sometimes. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book is very boring and doesn’t hold the reader’s attention. The book is not suitable for the age group targeted.	This book definitely holds the reader’s attention. The illustrations are bright, exciting, and detailed. The book does such a great job engaging the reader, but at the end the story stops. 3 stars
Educational Value	The book is relatable to education. The book can be integrated into other content areas.	The book is relatable to education. The book may need further resources to help connect it to other content areas.	The book is not relatable to education whatsoever. The book is not appropriate to be integrated into other content areas.	This book is relatable to education. This book teaches about friendships and can also be used for role playing to reach the standards of speaking and listening.   5 star