My 2 and 5 year old were totally captivated by the story, and as I expected, it sparked a lot of discussion. Giggling, my youngest immediately asked, "Why she call him that mommy?" Basically, I explained the princess called the prince a "bum" because he couldn't see past her paper bag, but it wasn't nice of her to call him a name either. Trying to take the focus off the word choice, I dwelt on my daughter's reaction. All along, she fancied the idea of wearing a paper bag, and she was truly surprised over the prince's behavior after the princess went to such lengths to rescue him. It occurred to me this story was one of my daughter's first encounters with ridicule over appearances. (What a blessing it was in the context of a book and not over something hurtful said to her about some of her interesting choices of attire.)
Figuring it would be a simple way to reinforce a message about true beauty, I picked up a paper bag for a fun afternoon activity sometime before the book was due back at the library. Friday rolled around, and I still hadn't pulled it out and honestly at that point in our week, I wasn't really in the mood. Suddenly, I realized my own resourceful little princess could be left to her own devices to pull off this craft. I handed her the bag and some scissors, and I told her she could make her own paper bag dress while I laid her brother down for his nap. As I was reading to John in his bed, I could hear tape ripping-- a lot of tape. I had no idea what I would find when I walked into her design room, but I opted to let it go until she showed me the final product. So thankful I empowered her to have the freedom to create as she wished because she was simply elated as she proudly debuted her paper bag dress. I had to smile when she explained, "I taped it up really good so it would be modest!"
When Belle's wheels start turning, it is really hard to slow her down. Soon, she was eager to turn her entire wardrobe into paper bag material. Insisting her doll must have a matching paper bag dress too, she entertained herself with this activity for well over an hour. Her excitement brought me great joy and helped snap me out of my tired pregnant trance that afternoon. Listening to her ramblings about paper bags amused me. At one point, she abruptly stopped working to offer a concerned request, "Mom, please don't wash this homeade dress, it isn't washing machine proof, ok?"
One of my favorite moments, however, came when John saw Belle's paper bag dress for the first time. His entire face lit up, he ran over to his sister, gave her a big hug and exclaimed, "You look pretty!" Oh, what that did for my heart! My precious son had grasped some powerful takeaways from this book too! And so far, I haven't heard him call anyone a bum :)
Joyful Heart Reminder: Psalm 139:14 "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."
