The Paper Bag Prince

by Colin Thompson

At last, Colin Thompson's highly acclaimed tribute to the rejuvenating power of nature is available in paperback!  The Paper Bag Prince bicycles each morning to the town dump where he watches    nature reclaim the polluted earth. When the dump is closed for good, he decides to make it his home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Since he started writing and illustrating children's books in 1990, Colin Thompson has had more than 50 books published. He has received several awards, including an Aurealis Award for the novel HOW TO LIVE FOREVER and the CBC Picture Book of the Year in 2006 for THE SHORT AND INCREDIBLY HAPPY LIFE OF RILEY. He has been shortlisted for many other awards, including the Astrid Lindgren Award - the most prestigious children's literature prize in the world.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Colin lives in Bellingen, Australia. His books with Random House Australia include HOW TO LIVE FOREVER, numerous picture books, THE FLOODS series, THE DRAGONS series, THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF HAPPY SADNESS picture book, which has been shortlisted for the 2009 Children’s Book Council Award for Best Picture Book, and FREE TO A GOOD HOME.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good things about this book:

--Socially responsible message.
--Cute animals.
--Skilled illustrator.

Bad things about this book:

--Environmental message is all in-your-face.
--Homeless and abused animals are sad!
--Illustrations are vertiginously over-detailed. Seriously, I couldn't really look at them closely without feeling ill.

Lastly:

Kids, the kooky old man who lives in the dump, wears multiple hats at once, and collects paper papers by the thousand is not your role model.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is interesting and unusual. And it doesn't really have the happy ending, all tied in a bow that other kids' stories do. Not everything is all cleaned up and tidy at the end, which surprised me (in a good way) a little. A man hangs around the city dump, for seemingly no reason. We discover that it used to be his farm and one day the city decides they don't need it anymore and he gets his land back.

The illustrations are awesome. There's so much on the page it takes awhile to "see" it all.

[Cleo Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book is exquisite. I have never read a book like it! It is an important fable for today's world with various links to topics such as conservation, recycling, respect for wildlife, kindness and trust. It is easily adaptable for various ages and conveys the message that in the end nature and kindness always win.

[Julie Bramhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin Thompson’s picture books are awesome and this one is no exception. A beautifully illustrated tale about the damage we not only do to our environment but to each other. A story to show how a little kindness can go a long way and have far reaching consequences for us, our planet and the animals and plants that inhabit it. #kindnessripple

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scrapes a four from me as I liked that it was different. However it’s the detailed pictures that clearly make this book. If like me your not a visual person then it’s not going to appeal as much as it could.

[Mrs C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone recommended this. Artwork is nice . I also like the author’s line of puzzles from Ravensburger.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute book! I loved the ending!!It really warmed my heart :)

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more story, but I found the extremely detailed illustrations to be very interesting!

[GoldenjoyBazyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about Colin Thompson's books are the illustrations. You can read his books in a flash but it is truly the illustrations that wisk you away to another place and time.

This book is about an old man that lives in a train car in what is a dump. He keeps the company of the animals that have found thier homes on the land. Everyday he rumages through the garbage and finds treasures of all manner. One day the dump closes and gradually the land goes back to the way he remembered it before the dump came.

His home returns to him in more ways than one.


The story is sweet but again..... the illustrations are a work of genius!

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually, this is one of my very favorite books. The illustrations are charming (not to mention complex and compelling and of beautiful composition), the narrative is fetching, the plot has to do with nature reclaiming a junk yard and the sweet old man who takes refuge there along with all of his sweet animal friends who all support one another. Nature and goodness triumph. It's a brave new world revealed at the end of the book.

[Peggy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous artwork with detail that my kids love to scrutinize. It's a great book for Earth Day or teach kids about what really happens when we throw out trash out. It also has some other less obvious lessons - like kindness, recycling and reuse, and trust. But all of these lessons are subtle and fit well within the story. My kids are in 5th grade and kindergarten and they both enjoy this one.

[Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marianna - This book is about a man that lives were people just dump thir garbage and don't care a bout who can be there.This man was named The Paper Bag Prince by a garbage truck driver.I recomened this book to peopel that like to read about people.

[Margaret Chan]

Interesting story. I like the theme that how human race has ruined the nature. But the nature has the most amazing perservence to survive through. Just as all the other books by Colin Thompson, I still admire his illustration very much. :-D

[Cal Fromm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale with a male protagonist who is patient, a bit eccentric, nurturing, and quiet-- a nice change from the norm. Richly illustrated and beautifully written!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating illustrations.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is a bit lack-luster, but the illustrations make up for it in spades.