Frog Prince, the

by Edith H. Tarcov, James Marshall

This humorous retelling of the classic fairy tale about the princess who kisses a frog and gets a prince is illustrated by the late Caldecott Medal-winning artist Marshall. A Level 3 Hello Reader! Full color.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Childrens, 1st Grade, Classics, Fantasy

Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing for a children's book. The princess in this story is very spoiled, rude, and inconsiderate, and has to be made to uphold her promises. She is also very mean to the frog, throwing him against the wall, but then in the next page he is a prince, and they live happily ever after! Not a good message here.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Typically when reading a children's story you learn some lesson to help better understand morals, but in "The Frog Prince" there was no lesson learned. The princess was spoiled rotten and got her way, even though she did not deserve it. I had to explain to my children that things such as this do not happen in real life.

I was highly disappointed in this short-story.

[Megan Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Title: The Frog Prince

Reading Level: 1-3

Book Level: 2.8

Summary: The princess drops her golden ball down the well and the only one who can help her get it is the frog that lives in the well. The princess promises to be the frogs playmate if he gets her ball, but soon turns on her promise only to have the frog find her at the castle.

Genre: Picture book and Traditional Literature

Characteristics: The Frog Prince is a fable that has struggles between the main characters, cause and effect, and has a happy ending.

Mentor Writing Traits:

VOICE: The Frog Prince conveys the princess, the frog and the king in different ways. As you read the story you take on each of those characters and create their own voice. The use of tone is relevant as the king is telling the princess that she must keep her promise. The frog pleads with the princess to be his playmate. As students begin to write voice can really be lost in the structure of writing. To support students and encourage voice in all writing pieces I would take this book and read it with expressiveness and bring the characters alive. I would tell my students I want to hear their voice in their stories. I want to think I am their in real-life as I am reading the story.

WORD CHOICE: The Frog Prince uses words that enhance and paint a picture for the readers experience. For example, "It fell-splash!-into the well" or "Flip, flap, flip, flap" to explain the frog hopping to the castle. Again, I would use this book to support students who use quote on quote boring words. Choosing active verbs and adjectives can bring a story alive. From the two examples above I imagined the sound the frog was making as he came to the door of the castle and the sound an object makes as it hits the water. These simple words helped tell the story.

[Joe Chell]

Book Title: The Frog Prince
Author/Illustrator: Edith H. Tarcov
Reading Level: LG
Book Level: 2.8

Book Summary: A princess drops her golden ball into a well, and makes a deal with the frog that if he gets it back for her she will allow him into her home however she doesn’t make good of their deal. That is until her father, the king, makes her keep her promise. After becoming angry with the frog she throws him against a wall, and he turns into a prince that she eventually falls in love with.

Bookshelf Genre: Traditional Literature

Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:

Ideas - This book has a strong theme of keeping promises and the meaning of them. The book begins with a spoilt princess who tries to take advantage of a lowly frog however, after not keeping her promise with him, she is forced to repay him. Upon completing her promise and learning her mistake she is rewarded with her prince.
Organization - There is a clear progression of the story with the character's arcs being very easy to follow. The writer takes time to highlights the important aspects of the story and the original event of the princess not keeping her promise leads to the subsequent events throughout the books.

The frog prince is definitely a book that you could use as a Readers Theater with students in your classroom. Students can use a character and make it their own and delve deeper into what their character is thinking in certain parts of the story and how this can be portrayed through their reading.

[Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the classic tale of the frog that turns into a prince. In this version, there is no kiss, but the frog makes the princess promise to do certain things in order for him to return her ball to her, which she has accidentally thrown into a well. The princess, of course, decides not to live up to her promises, but when the frog shows up at the castle, her father, the king, makes her live up to her oaths.

In the end, the frog is turned back into a prince, the prince and princess get married, and of course they live happily ever after.

This book is billed as a Level 3 Reader by Scholastic. With large print and colorful illustrations, it should make a good addition to classroom reading or as a portion of a homeschooling curriculum.

[Samiya Lopes]

I have really enjoyed this book! The structure and the length of the book is amazing! I feel like every child will always be tempted to read this book over and over again! It has a great storyline that makes sense, and images that have very simple but cute art on the pages. I feel like when I was reading this book it’s also close to most fiarytales like “Princess And The Frog.” Like when the frog becomes a prince but the story is built very very different. But overall, I suggest getting this book for the ages of 5-7! It’s very cute and very fun to read!

[L.A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

My experience of this story is that the princess realizes she has been unkind (i.e. in throwing the frog) and that keeping her promise is important. Not that she gets to begrudgingly sort of keep her promise and then after chucking the frog, marry the handsome prince. Oh, and that’s another thing—you’ve never seen an uglier prince, princess, king, etc. I’m all for inclusivity of realistic faces, but I’ve never seen a human as hideous as these illustrations.

Perhaps Tarcov was simply documenting the tale as it was originally told, but if so, why bother?

[Ham · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the seven hecks did I just read??
The princess gets rewarded for being a liar and attempted murderer? The frog turns back into a prince because he was thrown against the wall? And he forgives the horrible excuse for a princess because why?????? She’s rich and powerful? This is without a doubt the worst moraled children’s book I’ve ever read. James Marshall should sue the author for degrading his illustrations in such a manner.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the pictures in this book, and I thought the story was entertaining. The princess does not want to be friends with the frog, but the king makes her keep her promise. But I didn't like the ending. Why would the prince marry someone who treated him badly the entire story?

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending was too abrupt for my taste. Even if it is a children’s story. Felt like it lacked anything type of lesson. A little pointless.

[Ibrieal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a humorous retelling of a classic fairy tale. The only downfall of this book is that is doesn't teach a lesson.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

An odd version of the classic folktale.

[Becca Holmes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't understand how throwing him against the wall broke the curse and then they got married... It seems like something was missing in the end

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice story on the importance of keeping your word.

Thank you for the loan Cooperstown Public Library!

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the illustrations, but geez, what a terrible ending.

[Annette Heslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A happily ever after fairytale. I think most of us have heard or read this story more than once in our childhood.

[OG Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

IF they drew better pictures I would give it a five.

[Jennie Park]

This is a short story about a Princess who makes a promise to a frog that she will be his friend if he brings the golden ball that she dropped into the well. Once he brings the ball back to her she does not want to keep her promise to be his friend and runs away. In the end of the story, the Princess's father makes her keep her promise to the frog and let's him stay in the castle. This is a good story to read to younger grades (pre-k~3rd) to talk about the importance of keeping your word and promises. You can also use it as a teaching tool to talk about why lying is wrong.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I did not like the illustrations even though it was James Marshall. It reminded me of those very dated cartoon shorts they used to show on Sesame Street or even like The Yellow Submarine. Second, the princess throws the frog against the wall and that breaks the spell? What kind of spell was that?

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

a princess made a promise to a frog.the princess did not keep the promise. my favorite part was when the frog turned into a prince. - Auryn 7yo
(I thought it wasn't very good that chucking the frog up against the wall turned it back into a prince and that immediately the princess turned all starry eyed and married the frog, but hey, I'm not the writer. - Auryn's Mom)

[Shakita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would be read when we are introducing different genres of books. This is a fairy tale and I would want to students to be able to tell me what elements of the story make it a fairy tale. Students can write their own fairy tale and I would be able to judge what they know about fairy tales and also see their writing skills.

[Shantel · Rating 2 out of 5]

i gave this 2 stars because I thought the frog prince was suppose to be kissed and then he turns into a frong. In this version, the spoiled princess throws him against a wall, turns into a prince, smiles at her and the next day they get married. I'm not sure why throwing him violently against a wall dissovles the spell, and what in the world that message is teaching my kids.

[Anna Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty accurate, simpler version of the classic. The princess is rude and selfish but the book is teaching the importance of keeping your promises. And the quick transition between the princess freeing the prince, which is less violent than some versions, and them marrying is probably due to this simplification. Overall, an easier version for 2nd graders to read and enjoy.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy reader retelling of the classic fairytale. I liked the way Marshall illustrated the princess as she was deciding whether or not to make a deal with the frog in exchange for her lost gold ball. His artwork brings humor to the story, but this retelling is still just okay.

[Allison Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a fantastic story to use in an elementary setting. It teaches good morals, and there isn't really anything that would be inappropriate about it, like some folktales. The words are easy enough that beginning readers would be able to read it.

[Simply Arden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I low key disliked this book and it's message, did it even have a message? Kind of offensive and not sure why this has become a classic children's story.

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[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cartoon like illustrations, proportions are odd. Princess throws frog against wall instigating the transformation. No mention of Iron Henry.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a a retelling of the fairy tale and is cute. I read it to my son when he was little.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Traditional version with illustrations reminiscent of the 1970s School House Rock series. It's a good tale.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I recognize the story as being true to the original Grimms’ tale, it just seems wrong to reward the rude behavior and violent action of the princess with a “happily ever after” ending.