The Frog Princess: A Russian Folktale

Forced to marry an ugly frog, the youngest son of the Tsar is astounded to learn that the frog is really the beautiful princess Vasilisa the Wise.

Grade 1-4-"Once long ago in a faraway kingdom, there lived a great tsar who had three sons." When the time comes for his sons to marry, their father instructs them to string their bows and shoot arrows "as far as you can into the heart of Russia. Whoever finds your arrow shall be your bride." While the two elder sons find perfectly conventional wives, the arrow of the youngest, Prince Ivan, is found in the mouth of a small green frog. Despite his dismay with his fate, he does marry her and discovers that she is really quite talented. She is, in fact, the renowned and beautiful Vasilisa the Wise, who has been placed under enchantment by her jealous father. In classic fairy-tale fashion, Ivan foolishly burns his wife's frog skin, thereby banishing her to the land of the evil Koshchei the Invincible. In his quest to rescue Vasilisa, he encounters Baba Yaga who, in this story, actually lends a helping hand, and a series of animals who prove to be the key to solving the riddle that will save his bride. Lewis's retelling of this complex Russian tale is smooth and easy, lightened by touches of humor, and with only a minor lapse in continuity marring the narrative flow. Spirin creates an appropriately misty and romantic world, so well suited to a classic tale. His watercolors are rich in color and detail, picturing the sumptuous interiors and snowy landscapes. A fine addition to any folklore collection.
Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Spirin's ( The Children of Lir ) sumptuous art is reason alone to celebrate this volume, but the text is every bit as rich. Working from a Russian folktale, Lewis ( A Hippopotomusn't ) fashions a complex story out of a multitude of fairy-tale elements. A czar commands each of his three sons to shoot an arrow into the woods and marry the woman who retrieves it; while the elder brothers find important, wealthy maidens, Ivan, the youngest, is forced to marry a small frog. But Ivan's bride soon reveals herself to be Vasilisa the Wise, under a curse from her evil father. Determined to keep her in human form, Ivan burns her frog skin. As a result she is transformed into a swan and flies off to a Kingdom beyond Blue Kingdoms, from which Ivan must rescue her. Her perilous journey, during which she is aided by such unlikely creatures as a bear, a falcon, a pike and the infamous Baba Yaga, forms the second half of the narrative. Lewis, admirably, summons enough flair to link the numerous motifs. Spirin's minutely detailed portraits adorn each page, highlighting every flounce, every furbelow of the characters' court clothing; and he frames boxes of text with full-bleed paintings that resemble embroidered and bejeweled fabrics. That Spirin can use four-color art to create the effect of lustrous gold ink is further proof that he has the talents of an alchemist. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A prince marries a frog--it's a long story. It so happens that this croaker princess can outsew, outcook, and outdance the other court princesses, but only when she slips from her skin to become the beautiful Vasilia the Wise (a trick she performs when no one is watching, like Superman). Unfortunately, her husband the prince happens across her frog togs one night while she is in her Vasilia mode and burns the unwanted exterior so that his wife will remain forever radiant. Bad mistake. It turns out that Vasilia had a mere three days left to fulfill a curse her sinister father cast on her, yet now, without her skins, she will never see the prince again unless he can find her in the Kingdom beyond Blue Kingdoms. It is a long, mean search (including the obligatory visit to Baba Yaga; these days you can't throw a brick without hitting Baba Yaga in one form or another). Eventually, the prince succeeds in wresting Vasilia from the evil one. A nice gender twist on an old tale, paced to keep things moving. Spirin's illustrations command attention with detailing worthy of Faberg‚, although their fussiness can cause a visual overload. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian tales have been thick on the ground, some better than others. This one is worth a look. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5-8. Commanded by their father the czar to marry, three princes shoot their arrows into the heart of Russia in order to seek wives. One arrow is discovered by the daughter of a merchant, one by the daughter of a nobleman, but Prince Ivan's is found by a frog. After the weddings, the czar tries to determine which of his daughters-in-law is the cleverest. Ivan is ashamed of his amphibian spouse (who is in reality the beautiful but enchanted Vasilisa the Wise), but she always proves herself the smartest. When Ivan burns her discarded frog skin in an attempt to keep her in her human form, he disrupts the spell and almost loses her completely. Although Lewis cites no sources, his version of this complex Russian folktale is similar to others, most notably Elizabeth Isele's The Frog Princess (1984), illustrated by Michael Hague. Spirin's elegant watercolor illustrations complement the stately tone of the text, and the decorative borders framing most of the paintings add to the book's appeal. A worthwhile addition to the folklore shelf, especially for libraries attempting to provide multiple versions. Kay Weisman