The Paper Bag Princess

Many fairy tales are used to teach children lessons. “Little Red Riding Hood” provides a clear object lesson on why not to talk to strangers. However, fairy tales can be more subtle than that and teach less obvious (and violent) lessons. In “Beauty and the Beast”, by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, and “Little Thumbling”, by Charles Perrault, courage is one potential lesson that stands out. The title characters of both stories display courage through their actions, giving children an example to learn from. Of course, courage comes in more than one form, but the courage in these two stories shares many features. “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Thumbling” present courage as an important virtue that helps both courageous people and others by helping or protecting them.

Children’s Literature is a wide range. It is collection of culture, concepts and future values. After reading the introduction” Trade And Plumb-Cake Forever, The Riverside Anthology of Children’s Literature), I considered most insightful in reading this section , Children’s literature differs from adult literature, Children’s literature plays a key role in raising children's imaginations, and it plays an important role in the development and creative thinking in children.

There are various social issues that come across in our daily lives. One of the most reoccurring is stereotyping. The two characters accessible in this essay are Princess Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess and Hana from Hana’s Suitcase. In these two stories, both girls Hana and Princess Elizabeth have been stereotyped. Hana is stereotyped on her ethnic and spiritual backgrounds; she must face the expatriation and killing of large number of the Jewish people by Nazi’s throughout the Holocaust. On other hand, Elizabeth is stereotyped established on other “old-style” fairy stories; where the princess wishes the rescue and the prince fights the aggressive dragon. She faces a bigot stereotype. This essay will discuss how the authors; Levine (Hana’s Suitcase) and Munsch (The Paper Bag Princess) deal

Little girl recalled how fairy tales showed her that if her attitude changes and stays positive that her chances of succeeding is higher. This teaches the little girl that she does not need anything else, but the conviction belief that she can accomplish this task. According to the Bettelheim, children use modern stories to escape reality and go into a fantasy world that gives them temporary relief. Since the story was not a fairytale, it left the girl off with no hope for getting better in the future. Not only do fairy tales help children develop, but it also gives them hope. Bettelheim demonstrates through another scenario how fairytale gave a little girl hope in sense of her difficult situation. The little girl used “Rapunzel” as a way to relate her situation with the main character. While reading she figures out that her “prince” in real life will eventually save her like it happened in the story, giving her hope to keep going according to Bettelheim. That story of hope was sustained until that little girl grew up and got married eventually not needing it anymore, but she was using it more as a safety blanket. She would only use the fairytale in time of need.

Gender stereotypes are common in the United States today, even though many men and women have been working hard to defeat it. The task is made difficult however, when society in general implants the idea of gender roles into the mind of a child. Two authors, Judy Mann of The Difference and Bernard Lefkowitz of Our Guys face the issue of gender roles and stereotypes, and how they affect our lives today.

It is the year 2006 and a little girl sits on the living room floor listening to her mom read Cinderella to her. She is clad in a sparkling blue “ball gown” replicated after Cinderella’s. She eagerly listens as the beautiful glass slipper slips perfectly onto Cinderella’s foot. The little girl 's heart is warmed when Cinderella and the Prince live happily every after, and she too daydreams about the day that she will meet her prince and live happily ever after. That little girl was me. I always looked up to how Cinderella worked so very hard, and the hard work and kind heart were rewarded with a happily ever after. If I had known about The Poor Turkey Girl story as a kid, I would never want to read it because even though the poor girl worked very hard and had a kind heart, she was rewarded with nothing and instead punished by being forced to be lonely the rest of her life. This is just one of many reasons why the Cinderella story has better qualities than the Poor Turkey Girl Story. Although the main setting of The Poor Turkey Girl is drastically different from the Cinderella setting, the two protagonists both overcome many difficulties with help from very different characters, but even so only Cinderella results in a heartwarming ending.

Unlike any other form of literature or entertainment, Fairy Tales help children to discover their identity and suggest experiences needed to develop their character. In Bruno Bettelheim’s “Life Divined from the Inside” Bettelheim states that “Fairy Tales intimate that a rewarding, good life is within one’s reach despite adversity-but only if one does not shy away from the hazardous struggles without which one can never achieve true identity (Bettelheim 106). Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella” is a perfect example of Bettelheim’s definition of a Fairy Tale.

It is important to teach children about gender roles since it is something that society holds in regards, but most of the time in literature it is done unequally. The portrayal of gender in literature is based off of the expectations of society and places bias on gender. Boys are portrayed as strong, adventurous, independent and capable and often play the roles of fighters, adventurers and rescuers. Girls are portrayed as sweet, naïve, dependent, sensitive and emotional and play roles such as caretakers, princesses and mothers. The roles of gender portrayed in literature are often a reflection of the views of society and do not offer objective insight. Even though it is important to teach children about gender roles, the fashion in which it is done in does not allow children to see beyond those expectations. If a young girl is constantly read stories about a woman’s role as a housewife, homemaker and mother, she will assume that’s what is expected of her and will not know society will allow her to be anything she wants to be.

Well-written and inspirational literature not only has the ability to carry a reader into another world but they are able to accomplish this feat while simultaneously delivering deep messages that surpass the written text. Children’s literature is sometimes overlooked in terms of reaching these standards and being considered worthy of critical analysis; this genre is often perceived as having juvenile storylines and concepts portrayed through simplistic language. However, the common writing styles in children’s literature, often being either illustrated books or picture-books, offer the genre with a unique opportunity to achieve deep themes and messages through the dynamic

Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Frank Baum’s Dorothy are two of the most well-known and well-loved heroines of all time. At first glance, both Alice and Dorothy appear to be rather accurate renditions of actual little girls who embark on their own adventures in strange and fantastical lands. However, closer scrutiny reveals that only one of these characters is a true portrayal of what a little girl is really like, while the other is but a fulfillment of what most girls would only dream of being like.

“The Paper Bag Princess”, a fairy tale by Robert Munsch, reveals the truth how dumb the people appear, to others after their gratitude to them. The prince, Ronald, behaves to the princess, Elizabeth, the same way. In the beginning of the story, both have a very good relation, are about to marry to live happily. All of a sudden, upon a gigantic, fierce dragon’s arrival, their plan gets shattered. The dragon blows their big castle out with fire and takes the prince away with him, leaving the poor princess alone there.

Doughty, A. A. (2013). 'Throw the Book Away': Reading versus Experience in Children's Fantasy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Children love games, picture books and fun adventures and happily within this amazing book they will find all three! Sally has crafted an imaginative, thought-provoking book that will create hours of never-ending fun and delight for children.

Literary heroes that are also ordinary children are engaging to readers, particularly child readers. James Pope and Julia Round write that “Roald Dahl is a fascinating author in that his books for children feature child heroes who are very often neither hero nor villain, but a wild, subversive combination of both” (258). These characteristics are also true of Coraline and Harry Potter, as they are presented as imperfect, but ultimately find the power within themselves to save what is important to them. Children readers are empowered by Coraline and Harry because they identify with these ordinary children and feel as if they can also make a difference in their lives, as the characters defeat the evil in theirs.

It was a bright day and everyone was happy especially the princess Karina. She was in the field picking flowers and playing with the orphaned children. Then a soldier for the royal guard came to get Karina. On the way to the palace the soldier told Karina that her mother was very sick and this could possibly be the last time she sees her. And so she went to go see her mother. As her mother laid there she thought to herself what would life be like without her she has been there all my life she is the person who gave me my life. As she entered the room her mother said “Come here my child.” “Yes Mother,” Karina said. “Now child when I am gone that shouldn’t change who you are don’t let this affect you so much that you completely change as a person you stay the same bold, courageous, and kind hearted person that I know.” “Can you do that for me?” Karina hesitated before she answered her mother she said, “I make no promises but I will try my best to make your wish come true.” After that she laid with her mother as long as she possibly could.” The next day the doctor came and told Karina that it was time to let go. So Karina kissed her mother's forehead and fled the room with tear falling down her face. She left the palace and went to her special place to get away from the world it was a little house deep into the forest. A month after her mother's death she did exactly what she promised her mother and was bold and is still playing with the orphaned children but the death of her