The Prince of the Pond: Otherwise Known as De Fawg Pin (Paperback)

by Donna Jo Napoli (Author), Judy Schachner (Illustrator) "He was sitting in the middle of the slate walk by the hag's house..." (more)
Key Phrases: left vocal sac, mating hole, wood frog (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-This retold fairy tale has its poignant moments, but it's also hilarious at times. Most of the funny bits come when the prince who's been turned into a frog tries to communicate. He can't pronounce words so well because he doesn't know how to roll up his tongue (hence the subtitle), so it makes a great read-aloud. Pin bravely taunts a dangerous spiked turtle with mangled insults like "you one dumb tuh-tuh," hops to safety, then spits a rock at him. A female frog makes earnest attempts to understand the extraordinary title character. She's a smart little amphibian, but readers know exactly why Pin is such a puzzle to her, which makes her efforts to figure him out all the more humorous. Science Is Fun Award: Readers will enjoy this funny fairy tale, but they will also learn about what makes frogs different from toads, why they have two vocal sacs, and how the whole mating thing works.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Having been turned into a frog by a hag, a frog-prince makes the best of his new life as he mates, raises a family, and instills a new kind of thinking into his frog family.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140371516
• ISBN-13: 978-0140371512
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181,559 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #12 in	Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( N ) > Napoli, Donna Jo
  #13 in	Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Fairy Tales & Folk Tales > Frog Prince
  #56 in	Books > Children's Books > Animals > Reptiles & Amphibians > Nonfiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical, Sweet, Informative -- Wonderful!, July 27, 2004

By	P. S Waters (Hummelstown, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am agog at the reviews that complain about Pin's speech being annoying, or the biology lesson feel of the book. My kids (5 and 7) and I loved this poignant story of acceptance: acceptance of others' differences, of one's changing circumstances. They laughed themselves silly as Pin outwitted the pond's predators. I was incredibly touched by the lessons learned by both Pin and Jade as they got to know each other better. We never found the information the story conveyed to be heavy-handed or intrusive. It is one of the most imaginative books I've read in a long time. Beautiful illustrations and beautiful characters.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odd., October 9, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prince of the Pond: Otherwise Known as De Fawn Pin (Hardcover)

I love Donna Jo Napoli's fairy tale retellings, so of course I had to read this one too. But The Prince of the Pond was quite different--and, unfortunately, inferior--to Zel or The Magic Circle. For a start, the target audience was much younger than for the other books--third grade and up, I'd say. Also, Prince of the Pond had a light, slightly humorous tone, which did not fit well with the bittersweet ending. Pin's speech problems got to annoying me, and it was never explained why he couldn't say "thh" and "rrr" and "ssss" but other frogs could. And I didn't like the drawings much at all, which, I think, detracted from my enjoyment of the story. One of the biggest problems, though, was the biology lesson. At times it seemed like the author's chief purpose was to impart scientific information about frogs. These "educational" parts tended to get in the way of the real story. They were especially jarring because the book was narrated by a frog, and it seemed quite odd that a frog should know all this, and even more odd that she should talk about it all the time. They use words like "metamorphosis", and there are sentences like "Our goggle-like eyelids kept out the water but still let us see the underwater world." And, "Your stomach acids will dissolve his [a crayfish's] hard shell." (Frogs should just take these things for granted. I mean, humans don't go around saying things like, "It is cold today, but luckily I am warm-blooded.") This, combined with the very simple writing style, often gave the feeling of an elementary school reader. Despite these problems, the story was engaging and quick-moving, and I cared about the characters enough so that I was happy to find out there was a sequel--Jimmy, the Pickpocket of the Palace. Overall--3.5/5

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's hard to be green..., March 12, 2003

By	agtpeach (PA) - See all my reviews

The Prince of the Pond: Otherwise Known As De Fawg Pin is a sweet, hilarious story for the young and the young-at-heart. I'm one of the latter, as I was almost hysterical with the giggles at the very silliness of a lisping frog. Although I do not care for amphibians at all, I found the illustrations excellent and learned a thing or two since they also have a slightly biology-lesson feel. The story also provided facts about frogs that will interest children.

The story is narrated by a female frog who befriends our hapless hero, Pin. The basic tale of The Frog Prince is maintained, but only as shell. The real story revolves around Pin's adaptation to his new world and the compromises of his human and frog selves.

Donna Jo Napoli did a wonderful job of creating just the right mood for each scene - light and carefree when the frogs are playing, a little menacing when the mean old bullfrog comes, and particularly sweet when Pin is determined to save all his hundreds of tadpole children. A bit of the fantastic, the scientific, and the winsome. Also charming is the sequel, Jimmy, the Pickpocket of the Palace.