The Frog Prince - Hardcover

Ormerod, Jan

3.79

99 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688095682 ISBN 13: 9780688095680

Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1990

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

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

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-4-- Ormerod tries her hand--with Lloyd--at a classic fairy tale, but the results are disappointing. Her story line is standard to a point--princess loses ball, frog returns it and moves in with the princess--but this time it is the princess' growing fondness for the frog and the fact that she allows him to sleep on her pillow three times that breaks the enchantment, transforming him into a handsome prince. While this less brutal version will be welcomed by some, it is marred by lackluster language and choppy sentence structure. When the frog asks to be placed on the princess' knee--"Well, the princess did not like the idea of that at all, because the frog was wet, and a frog." Without rhythm or cadence, the story seems to plod along, falling dully on listeners' ears. The pictures neither extend nor enhance the awkwardly written text. Ormerod's sketchy, undetailed style, which works so well in her picture books for younger children, here shows a lack of depth; her figures are flat and one-dimensional, with expressionless faces. The palette is somber, in tones of muted olive, gray, and black. Lighter touches of green, red, and gold are used, but they do not ease the overall heavy feeling of the book. Look instead to Naomi Lewis' Frog Prince (North-South Bks, 1989), with its more compelling language and visual allure. --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Although textually straightforward, this is a visually sophisticated treatment of Grimm's tale. Its force derives not from broad characterizations or expressions but rather from subtleties of color, mood and detail. Ormerod paints a somber world dominated by grays and greens, with only an occasional splash of gold or orange for relief. Not until the final spread, when the princess and her prince are married, does a fuller, lighter palette emerge--as if the burdens of the princess's unkept promise and the prince's unhappy enchantment have finally been lifted. Decorative borders contain a striking assortment of unusual details: frogs in various life-stages, watery tangles of vines, curious flower-figures that sing and dance. In sum, they suggest a place where transformation is eminently possible, and where the boundaries--between dark and light, pond and palace, humankind and other--may be easily blurred. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.