THE FROG PRINCESS by E.D. Baker, 2002

Shy and clumsy and facing an arranged marriage with a dull prince, Princess Emeralda hides out in the nearby swamp or escapes to the chambers of her aunt Grassina, who is a witch. One day she meets a talking frog, and, of course, the frog claims to be a prince. Eventually the frog persuades Emeralda to give him a kiss, but, in a twist on the familiar, Emeralda becomes a frog herself. (Booklist) 


Review by Kim Harris Thacker, writer, mommy, and Bookshop Talk Host

My daughters had a rough winter and an even rougher early spring. They caught every virus available and were on antibiotics a couple of times. We even have a designated “puke bowl,” in my house (If you come over to eat, and we serve you something in a big sky-blue bowl, you’ll know we don’t like you very much.). One of my daughters became so attached to her puke bowl that she started calling it “my pet.” Then she gave it a proper name. The name she chose was Eadric. You may think this is random, but it isn’t. My sweet daughter fell in love with this name when first she heard it, which was when we read her E.D. Baker’s THE FROG PRINCESS.

Eadric is the frog prince. The delightful frog prince. How often have you read a fairy tale retelling where the love interest isn’t very interesting? I adore Disney’s animated “Cinderella,” but…Prince Charming seems pretty brainless, to me. For one thing, he promises his father he’ll marry the young lady whose foot fits a glass slipper, and that only works because, fortunately, Cinderella wears a size 3 shoe, and the only other females in the kingdom who are so dainty-footed are children. The other thing that bothers me about Prince Charming is he doesn’t go search for Cinderella himself! He sends the Grand Duke after his promised fiancée. One would think he would be eager to make sure the girl who was brought back to the castle to marry him was the right girl. One would think. But that one is not Prince Charming. I much prefer Prince Naveen, from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog.” By the way, THE FROG PRINCESS was part of the inspiration for this movie!

But back to THE FROG PRINCESS book. The characters are refreshingly mentally sound (even if they possess some magical tendencies), with the exception of the half-cracked and fully wannabe witch, Vannabe. But she’s supposed to be odd. There are some talking animals in the book, too, which my daughter loved. The story is simple, but fast-paced, and not too exciting for my daughter, who is still very young for even Middle Grade novels, such as this one.

THE FROG PRINCESS is the first book in a series, and I’m eager to try out the other novels, too!

Market: Middle Grade

Language: None

Sensuality: Mild (froggy kisses and a human kiss or two)

Violence: Mild (spell casting)

Mature Themes: “Fitting In”


Book formats:
Paperback


To learn more about the author, visit: E.D. Baker