Frankly, I Never Wanted to Kiss Anybody!: The Story of the Frog Prince as Told by the Frog

The Other Side of the Story

by Nancy Loewen, Denis Alonso (Illustrator)

OF COURSE you think I needed a kiss from a beautiful princess to end my "toadally" awful curse. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you É

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Retellings, Fairy Tales, School, Fantasy, Fractured Fairy Tales

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

Nancy Loewen grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, surrounded by library books and cats. She's published more than 140 books for children. FOUR TO THE POLE (co-authored with polar explorer Ann Bancroft) and THE LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN were Minnesota Book Award finalists. Her WRITER'S TOOLBOX series received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers.

Nancy lives in Saint Paul and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. She has two adult children and a cat who sometimes bites her knees under the table as she writes.

Reviews

[Cynthia Gutzwiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very creative idea on this fractured fairy tale. It is of the point of view of the Prince. This book has very creative writing to make for snickers and laughter.
Hank's mom on the opposite baseball team turned him into a frog. All because he was about to catch the winning out for his team to win the championship he is now a frog. She told him that to turn back human he must get a Princess to kiss him without telling her he's a Prince. There was some good about being a frog. He could see almost all the way around his head...he could swim and dive like nobody's business. Jim and his friends were playing kick the mushroom when he saw a Princess. What did he do? Did he ask for a kiss? Is he a boy again? You get to do that thing that I always say is so much fun. You know it is. Come on. Admit it. Reading/listening. Yes!! Fun times ahead!!I
I borrowed this book on a Kindle Unlimited website and so can you.

[Jillian Cryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The remake of a classic fairytale, but with a big twist. We are hearing the story from the frog's point of view. The story starts with baseball and the soon to be frog playing baseball and one of his teammates moms turning him into a frog. As a frog, they play baseball and a princess comes along and loses her ball down a well. The frog gets it and the princess is on her way. The frog asked for a kiss and the process ran away, the frog followed and hoped for a kiss at the castle. The story was cute and I liked the retold version of the story although I wish there was more backstory as to why the mom wanted to turn him into a frog, I liked the story. I would use this in my classroom to teach them about fantasy and fairy tale stories, I think it would be fun to read the new version to my students. I also really liked how the story was told from the point of view of the frog and from the outside looking in on the situation. Very cute read!

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unless readers of this book have made a picture book specialty of reading traditional stories about "The Frog Prince" -- why would this book make any sense to them at all?

Accordingly, I'm rating this hardworking satire based on that earlier assumption. This book is for conoisseurs of stories about "The Frog Prince."

Yes, if it matters greatly to you that you finally-finally find out what the big deal is supposed to be about kissing a frog, here's your FIVE STAR fairy tale parody supreme.

How many children will be in this group? Maybe not many.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting because the prince is a little boy in this version and therefore is concerned more with playing games and winning the championship than in kissing girls. Which you can totally infer from the title. Either way a cute version of the frog prince.
Recommended? Sure
Buy/Borrow? Borrow

[Dabney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book that twists the traditional tale. It’s fun for kids who love fairytales because they’ll get the references. It’s neat how it has an educational section at the end to encourage thinking about literature and literary vocabulary.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankly, I Never Wanted to Kiss Anybody!: The Story of the Frog Prince as Told by the Frog (The Other Side of the Story) by Nancy Loewen – A younger and much funnier frog-kissing romp! Love this series! Happy Reading!

[Shaelynn Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Age Range: Primary
This is a fun story for anyone reading! A fractured fairytale that can be a wonderful for lesson for a classroom. This book is very creative and a fun read!

[Tania Henriques · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it told the story from the Prince's point of view and his experience as a frog versus a narrator telling the story. I also liked the illustrations and how it created an imaginative story for readers.

[Emaline Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

narrated to me by mccullough, so a very nice experience
SO MANY PLOT HOLES
HOW DID THE FROGS KNOW THE GIRL WAS A PRINCESS? HOW DID THE PRINCESS KNOW THE BOY WAS A PRINCE??
LASTLY (but not least), they would NEVER let a prince or princess play baseball bc they would die frfr.

[Jessamine Holbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a cute retelling from the frog's POV. It says he was a prince, but I really saw no evidence of that, he was a boy playing baseball. The princess was sneaky and was not going to keep her word until the frog threatened to take her ball.

[Stargazer · Rating 1 out of 5]

i love a fractured fairy tale but find these boring.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 2 out of 5]

A twist on the Frog Prince story, but the twist isn't very spectacular.

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

I doubt that any kid wants to be a frog but the story is quite humorous and it has a happily baseball ending.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as great as the other ones in this series but cute and funny.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot.

[Jesa Burgoyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

September’s Wheel of TBR 2022
Prompt: Retelling

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A twist on an old fairy tale.

[Cheryl A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such an odd series. I think the best part is the titles - love the adverbs! In this one I appreciate that the princess is excused for throwing the frog, and that it doesn't end in insta-marriage.

[Jan Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this take. The prince and princess are still just kids who want just to play baseball. The prince is at the girls have cooties stage so it's lots of fun.

[BL WA · Rating 3 out of 5]

terrible but I am a nice person so I give it a 3

Just read the headline and that’s really all I have to say. But I need more words so I’m just, talking. K, bye!

[Tima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone knows that the frog needs a kiss from a beautiful princess to turn back into a prince. But did you know that the frog didn't really want a kiss? Prince Puckett is turned into a frog by Hank's mom so he doesn't win the championship baseball game. Now he's being forced to kiss a princess if he wants to play his beloved baseball again. Prince decides he loves being a frog. And he's going to stay that way if it means he has to kiss a girl to turn back into a boy. But one day an opportunity to kiss a princess falls into his lap. He can't miss the chance to turn back into a baseball playing boy.

The illustrations are bright, colorful, and hilarious. They play a large part in telling the story. The story moves along quickly and captures the reader's attention with the details and amusing plot. Children will love the twist to the classical story. Parents and teachers will love the resources at the back of the book. At the back of the book there are questions for discussion, a glossary, a list of books for further reading, internet sites, and more books in the series.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

To most, being a frog would be gross, but to this little "prince", well, he is alright with it. In fact, it has some nice advantages to it, but playing baseball is not one of them. Feeling a responsibility towards his team, the young frog seeks to change back, only, there is one hitch ...it requires a kiss.

Neither he, nor the princess wishes to give a kiss though, for kisses are icky. Each attempt provokes a series of contorted, and clearly not contented faces, frozen in funny forms. Any notion of romance is mocked and avoided, but friendship, and a good ballplayer are valued.

Both the prince and princess are nothing like their fairytale counterparts. They are normal kids within a modern setting, and children will relate much easier to their reactions than those of the adults in the original.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prince Puckett was playing baseball and about to catch a foul ball that would give his team the championship, when Hank's mother turned him into a frog so he couldn't catch the ball. But hey! Being a frog isn't so bad. But I would like to get back to my teammates, so when the princess showed up I made a deal with her: I get your ball from the well, you kiss me. But she refused! But she has no idea who she's dealing with.

The biggest change in the story is that they don't fall in love and get married, but they do recruit the princess to pitch for Puckett's team.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Prince Puckett is turned into a frog during a baseball game, he isn't particularly eager to be kissed by a princess. Despite her promises, the princess just can't bring herself to kiss the green amphibian. It takes his threat to take her favorite baseball to get her to pucker up. Do they live happily ever after? Nah! But they do end up teaming up. Readers will smile at this version of the beloved fairy tale.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole series is just a riot. I love the fracture Fairy tale aspect. The twist of this "Frog Prince" story is a ton of fun! There is also 'talking point' in the back to use in a classroom setting! Thumbs up!

[Luanne Hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed fairy tales. This book made a perfect lesson for fractured tales and a compare/contrast lesson. I love having students help me tell a fairy tale, then to read its fractured version to them. It makes a fun class time.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great version of the classic tale The Frog Prince. The frog doesn't give up as he seeks a princess to turn him back into a man. Funny illustrations and dialogue. Good for use of books from different perspectives. Highly recommended for Gr. 2-3.

[Cyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fairy Tales with a Twist books are all interesting takes from the other side, for example Cinderella as told by the "Wicked" Step-mother. All of the ones I have read have been good (4 - 4.5 range).

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternate POV for the Frog Prince. Frog's side of the story.

Youtube Reading

[Amber Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think these are so cute!! Makes you think about the story that you have heard if if it is the whole truth.