Customer Reviews

Frog Prince

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ormerod's elegant version combines beautiful, Art Nouveau styled illustrations with a well-written, non-violent retelling of the classic fairy tale. A queen, instead of a king, forces the princess to keep her promise to the frog. Eventually, the princess grows to love the frog and the frog transforms to green-attired prince after sleeping three nights on the princess' pillow. The amazingly detailed illustrations drawn using muted colors are framed by elaborate borders of dancing plants, insects, amphibians and other creatures.

This is a beautifully illustrated book with a very well layered approach when it comes to visual details. There is a very clear main subject, but detailed borders provide a lot to look at on repeat viewings. My 2 1/2 year old immediately wanted to read it again after the first reading. It is a simplified version of the story, which is what I think makes it so good for someone my son's age. Too often, these classic fairy tales are overly wordy and my son quickly loses interest. This one moves along at a brisk pace and tells a lot of the story through the expression on the princess's face, which at first is one of horror and at the end is one of pleasure about her little frog friend. The art nouveau style makes it feel like a book that might have been written and illustrated in 1912.

I would have loved to see this author do the same treatment on other Grimm's Fairy Tales.

These illustrations remind me of some Alphonse Mucha art windows we saw in Prague. Very stylish illustrations, with borders that show transformations. Simply beautiful.

The well-written story is a pleasure to read out loud - this book is a keeper.