Paper Bag Princess Day celebrations at Ingersoll book store

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Commonplace Books in Ingersoll will be celebrating the beloved children’s classic The Paper Bag Princess, by the late Robert Munsch.

In partnership with Annick Press, the independent book store will be hosting a Paper Bag Princess Day event on March 7, which will feature a variety of activities such as fortune-teller making, crown decorating, dress-up, and readings of the story by local authors. Deb Campbell will read the classic story at 10:30 a.m. and Matt Colby will read it at 2:30 p.m.

The Paper Bag Princess was originally published in 1980 and has been loved by readers over multiple generations.

"It's the original feminist fairy tale, I think. This kind of reversal of the prince saving the princess. No, she saves herself and I think that's universally beloved and probably gets better year after year,” said Shannon McKechnie, owner of Commonplace Books. “Somehow, this story still maintains its relevance and it's great also for parents to pass on to their kids too.”

Commonplace Books is also giving away a Munsch prize pack in honour of Paper Bag Princess Day and will be stocked with lots of copies of the renowned Canadian children’s author’s classic books and newer works.

In addition to the event, the store will host Saturday Storytimes either featuring local children’s authors reading their own works or independent authors and publishers.

"As an independent bookstore, it's important to support independent authors as well and that's what you'll see at Commonplace with our local author section and including local authors in events like this, so it's a chance for them to promote their own work but also promote classic Canadian authors and engage with kids too,” McKechnie said. "If you're writing children's books, you're typically into engaging with kids through the arts in that way and promoting local artists is always going to be central to our mission."

More information about upcoming events can be found online by either visiting the Commonplace Books Facebook page or www.commonplaceingersoll.ca.