An entertaining effort with a disappointing denouement.
Three pink-cheeked, white princesses meet a conniving frog in this amusing metafictional parody of “The Frog Prince.”
The two older sisters are elegant young ladies in jewels and brocade gowns who sit in the palace garden reading fairy tales. They sit quietly and read “The Frog Prince,” while their much younger sister, Princess Martha, prefers learning facts and studying real frogs. A clever frog introduces himself as the ensorcelled Prince Ribbit and convinces the older sisters to take him indoors for a pampered life. Spunky Princess Martha, with red, curly hair and glasses, sees through the frog’s ruse. Her sisters offer fairy tales to prove their point, while Martha counters with informational texts, triggering the story’s refrain: “Just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean it’s true.” The older sisters kiss the frog to try to break the spell and turn him into a handsome prince and future husband, but Martha tries to befriend the frog, sealing the deal with a gentle kiss. In a surprising twist ending, the frog turns into a dark-haired, pale-skinned prince who is “SO handsome that Martha decided she DID want to marry him after all.” The final page, however, shows Martha laughing with the real frog, along with the story’s thematic advice not to believe everything, as “just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean it’s true.” Despite the tongue-in-cheek ambiguity of the ending, the story seems to reinforce the notion that partners should be chosen based on appearances. In addition, Princess Martha appears far too young to be contemplating marriage, so the moment when readers think she is may unsettle them. A huge trim size and digitally produced illustrations in bright, jewel tones add appeal.
An entertaining effort with a disappointing denouement. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-56145-761-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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