Elizabeth, a beautiful princess, lives in a castle and wears fancy clothes. Just when she is about to marry Prince Ronald, a dragon smashes her castle, burns her clothes with his fiery breath, and prince-naps her dear Ronald. Undaunted and presumably unclad, she dons a large paper bag and sets off to find the dragon and her cherished prince. Once she's tracked down the rascally reptile, she flatters him into performing all sorts of dragonly stunts that eventually exhaust him, allowing her to rescue Prince Ronald. But what does Prince Not-So-Charming say when he sees her? "You smell like ashes, your hair is all tangled and you are wearing a dirty old paper bag. Come back when you are dressed like a real princess." (At least he has the courtesy not to mention that the princess's crown resembles a dying sea anemone.) In any case, let's just say that Princess Elizabeth and Prince Ronald do not, under any circumstances, live happily ever after. Canadian author Robert Munsch celebrates feisty females everywhere with this popular favorite, and Michael Martchenko's scratchy, comical, pen-and-ink drawings capture the tongue-in-cheek quality of this read-aloud crowd pleaser. Ages 4-8.
性别是先天赋予的，也是后天文化塑造的。在“文化不利”的情况下，我们需要帮助女孩从小扭转习以为常的性别观。童书是途径之一，《纸袋公主》就是特别针对孩子之间性别平等教育的绝佳教材。就我的目力范围而言，这应该是大陆出版的第一本直接反映这类观念的童书。
故事中公主和王子一开始就要“幸福地生活在一起”了，可是火龙却把王子掠走了，还把城堡烧得一干二净。公主只好穿上一个纸袋，然后勇敢地追赶火龙，要救出王子。公主用自己的机智打败了火龙。谁知王子却嫌公主衣衫褴褛，公主气坏了，骂王子是一个没用的家伙，然后扬长而去。
这个故事颠覆了以往童话故事中的王子和公主形象。首先，公主表现得更加有智慧和力量，传统童话中都是公主等着王子的拯救，而这个童话却把两个角色彻底做了调换。其次，公主表现得更有主见，当王子责怪公主时，公主马上还以颜色，毫不犹豫地弃他而去。
By Robert N. Munsch, Illustrated by Michael Martchenko, Hardcover, Simplified or Traditional Chinese Characters, 24 pages, 8.25"x8.25"
