From Publishers Weekly
The fabled amphibian meets with marital discord; according to PW, "stylized, sophisticated pictures add to the keen humor of this revisionist revelry." Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5-- As in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Viking, 1989), Scieszka offers another tongue-in-cheek "rest of the story," telling what happens after the Princess kissed the frog. Readers won't be surprised to learn that they do not live "happily ever after." In fact, they're downright miserable. He misses the pond; she's tired of him sticking out his tongue and hopping on the furniture. In desperation, the bug-eyed hero decides to find a witch who can turn him back into the happy frog he once was. Successfully surviving encounters with several sinister but dimwitted witches from other tales, he finally meets Cinderella's Fairy Godmother who tries to help, but the transformation is definitely NOT what he had in mind. As the clock strikes midnight, he returns to human form and hurries home to his beloved Princess where the tale ends unexpectedly, but indeed happily. Johnson's surreal illustrations are right on target for the offbeat story. Painted in deep, shadowy colors and expertly composed, they are filled with subtle and surprising humor that continually rewards viewers with laugh-out-loud visual treats. The overall design is clean and spacious, with figures and objects moving past the ragged borders of the pictures and across the pages, matching the verbal movement perfectly. Readers will relish the pleasure inherent in combining traditional fairy tale motifs with modern, everyday objects and actions. A winner.
- Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FLCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
