The Frog Principal [Hardcover]

Stephanie Calmenson (Author), Denise Brunkus (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

When Marty Q. Marvel the magician accidentally turns Mr. Bundy into a frog, the students of P.S. 88 don¹t know what to do! It¹s not always easy having a slimy, green-skinned amphibian for a principal. Even worse, Mr. Bundy has started playing leapfrog, swimming in the kindergarten sink, and eating students¹ fly collections. Will he ever be his old self again?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Teachers and students all agree that Mr. Bundy is the best principal that a school could ever have. He thinks a special magic show would be a nice addition to an upcoming assembly and he finds just the right magician. However, in a brief demonstration of some educational tricks, Marty Q. Marvel accidentally turns Mr. Bundy into a frog and can't remember how to restore him to his former self. The creature takes a few leaps to a nearby pond and finds it delightful, especially the flies that are buzzing around-very tasty. When a student hits a baseball into the water and he and a couple of his buddies come to retrieve it, Mr. Bundy makes them a deal: he'll get their ball if he can be principal. They are quite surprised that the frog can talk-and how can it be their principal? Crossing their fingers, the kids make the promise and then race off with their ball. In the end, all is set to rights, and the last picture provides a surprise and a giggle. Calmenson's version of "The Frog Prince" takes many liberties with the original tale, adding quirky humor and delightful situations. Brunkus's watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations accentuate the hilarity of this spoof on the traditional fairy tale. Read aloud or alone, this book is sure to get its share of chuckles.

Patti Gonzales, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-7. The classic story of "The Frog Prince" is given new life when a bumbling magician auditioning for a school assembly accidentally turns Mr. Bundy, principal of P.S. 88 (and star of another Calmenson and Brunkus fairy-tale update, The Principal's New Clothes), into a frog. But Mr. Bundy doesn't let this setback stop him from carrying on his principal's duties. "Even though I'm small, green, and slimy, I can still be a good principal, can't I?" Eventually Mr. Bundy becomes his old self again, but not before he joins some students in a game of leapfrog, startles the kindergartners by taking a dip in a sinkful of water, and uses his long, quick tongue to gobble up a student's science project--a tasty bug collection. The silly plot is very believably written, and Brunkus' expressive watercolor-and-colored pencil illustrations add to the fun with crisp, colorful scenes depicting all the outrageous antics. This would be a natural choice for all those principals who routinely visit primary-grade classrooms for a quick read-aloud. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590370707
• ISBN-13: 978-0590370707
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephanie Calmenson's books have been called "marvelous" (Publishers Weekly), "lyrical" (School Library Journal), "hilarious" (School Library Journal), "sweet, funny, and right on the mark" (Booklist). She writes for babies, toddlers, elementary school kids and for all ages about dogs, dogs, dogs! Among her most popular titles are THE PRINCIPAL'S NEW CLOTHES; DINNER AT THE PANDA PALACE; WELCOME, BABY!; JAZZMATAZZ!; LATE FOR SCHOOL!; MAY I PET YOUR DOG?; and ROSIE, A VISITING DOG'S STORY. A former teacher, children's book editor, and Editorial Director of the Parents Magazine Press Read-Aloud Book Club, Stephanie feels privileged to have found work that brings together her love of kids, words and laughter.

To read more, please visit www.stephaniecalmenson.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Frog Prince-aple Returns!, February 26, 2002

By 

Bettie Fisher (Dexter, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Frog Principal (Hardcover)

Mr. Bundy loves his school, but finds himself unexpectedly turned into a frog. While he waits to be returned to his normal self, he makes a deal with some students to let him, as a frog, be the principal while the "real" one is gone. The kids try to break the promise, just like "The Frog Prince" story, but Ms. Moore, a teacher, requires them to keep their promise. The students try hard to adjust to the new principal. Weeks go by, when one day, just as unexpectedly, Mr. Bundy is returned to his normal body. Well, almost normal. The illustrations are delightful; I especially liked the tie. This will be fun to read aloud. Be sure to compare/contrast with all the various Frog Prince versions out there for some fun activities.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Frog Principal, February 13, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Frog Principal (Hardcover)

In The Frog Principal, a Principal turns into a frog. I bet you are wondering how? Well, the frog pricipal decided to have an assembly. So he looked in the phone book and saw Marty Q. Marvel, Magician my marvil-ous magic will amaze you!!! He wanted to see
what he would do so he called him up and said ,`May I see your tricks'? The magician came and was supposed to do a math lesson, but instead he turned the principal into a frog. What was Stephanie Calmenson thinking? Well you will have to find out. I like this book because it is funny and imaginative.

5.0 out of 5 stars teachers will love this book, April 12, 2011

By 

Kathleen Oliver (Mpls., MN, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Frog Principal (Paperback)

I've used this book for years in my first grade classroom. The children love that the principal is turned into a frog! In addition to a funny story to read and enjoy it is an excellent start for teaching beginning, middle and end for retelling. It has a clear beginning (the principal is a man) middle (the principal is a frog) and end (back to human again).