The Princess and the Frog: Adapted from the Frog King and Iron Heinrich by the Brothers Grimm

by Rachel Isadora

As payment for retrieving the princess's ball, the frog exacts a promise which the princess is reluctant to fulfill

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1989

About the author

Rachel Isadora is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. She has written children's books on multiple topics including ballet, life in America and Africa, and has illustrated several Brother Grimm tales in an African setting. She is most well-known for her Caldecott Honor Award book "Ben's Trumpet". She was a ballet dancer before she became an illustrator and children's writer.

Reviews

[Patrick Resse]

The Princess and the Frog by Rachel Isadora is a cute fairy tale that depicts the interesting interactions between a princess and what seems like a common frog. This book does nt have any awards, but it very well should, due to the wonderful story and the illustration that perfectly follows on the page next to it. This book would be great for kindergarten and first graders because of the difficulty of the text and the content as well.
The story starts with unnamed princess finding a ball by a spring, which she plays with for some time in considerable enjoyment. She then loses the ball in the spring and makes a proclamation that who or whatever retrieves her ball, she will give all he clothes and riches to, only to have a frog emerge. The frog then tells the princess that it will accept the deal, but when the princess gets the ball she flees in a hurry. She later hears the frog at the front door at the palace and lets in at the command of her father. She then has to fulfill her promise to the frog and help him live in the luxury of the palace. The third morning he is there, he wakes up as a handsome prince stating that an old witch put a curse on him, but now he is better. They get married and live happily ever after as many princesses in children’s books normally do.
This a great children’s fairy tale book that will heighten their already sky-high interest in princes and princesses. The story is told in a very clear and simple way that will make it extremely easy for early readers to follow along with. The book provides excellent pictures that would certainly increase the children’s interest a well. The silhouettes that appear on the same page of the text next to the main illustrations is also a fantastic creative touch that focuses on the main characters of the scene being described. The tale ends in a stereotypical way that follows the path of many other fairytales, but it will make no difference to young children as they eat this stuff up. I will certainly include this book in my future classroom for the kids to look at and possibly to do a long activity on. One of the activities that would be a good idea is to read the book aloud and then watch the 2009 film version of the story, which was nominated for an Academy Award. A discussion of the similarities and differences using a Venn diagram would be perfect. It would be interesting to hear what the kids think about the black princess instead of the white princess in the book. You could also have the kids share with each other what their favorite fairy tale is and why, and then have them share with the class.

[Michael]

This is a fairly famous tale: a frog convinces a princess to keep him in her house for three days, at which point he turns into a prince, of course!. Very rich, realistic illustrations accompany the story, which is told in a straightforward way, but with appropriate humor. It is done well, but of course if you are trying to avoid the prince-princess bend over backwards to fall in love and get married trope, you should probably skip this one.

[emyrose8]

For some reason, I thought there was going to be a twist on the traditional fairy tale, but it's the same Princess and the Frog tale I've heard since I was little. The illustrations are nice. The girl seems kind of young for romance at the beginning of the book, but towards the end she looks a little older.

[NSA GRClub]

Jossy

[Tabytha Berry]

I think it's a good fairy tale. at teaches you to follow through with what you promised because their my might be a prince. Or maybe *if you throw shit against the wall you can find a prince* lol

[Deniece Nance]

The princess and the frog is a student that I read since I was 9. I'm now 21 years old and I still enjoy reading it. The store is so touching. I recommend teachers and and future teachers to read this to there students. The story and well written and it worth your time and money.

[RLL22016_MarinaVasquez]

A young princess loses her gold ball in the spring, which then a frog tells her he will help her get it if she lets him eat and sleep with her. The frog helps her, yet the princess breaks her promise until her father end up telling her she made a promise, so she has to keep it. The princess ends up feeding the frog and letting him sleep in her bed with her. After several days the frog curse is broken and he turns into a prince, which then him and the princess end up getting marry and living happily ever after.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S.]

A frog offers to help retrieve a ball dropped into the spring by a lovely princess. In return, he requests that the princess take him back to her palace and be his friend. At first, the princess runs home, leaving the frog behind but eventually she keeps her promise.

This variant offers a twist, instead of a kiss, the frog needs to sleep in a princess' bed for three consecutive nights. Isadora's writing and illustrations are amazing as usual.

[Sarah]

Not my favorite.