Frogged

February 11, 2013
Vande Velde previously reworked classic fairy tales in The Rumpelstiltskin Problem and Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird, and she now turns to the “The Frog Prince.” Princess Imogene, who is 12 and “gawky,” is tired of falling short in her family’s eyes. The real trouble begins when a (rather pushy) frog, who tells Imogene he’s a prince beset by a witch’s spell, tricks her into kissing him. He returns to his human form, but she is transformed into a frog as a result; worse, he was just the lowly son of a wagon maker. Too kind to use that sort of deceit on someone else, Imogene searches for another solution, tracking down the none-too-sympathetic witch who cast the original spell, getting captured by a boy-crazy runaway named Luella and her know-it-all actor boyfriend (who use Imogene as a gimmick to attract an audience for their theater troupe’s lousy plays), and trying to find a way home. Vande Velde’s story recalls E.D. Baker’s The Frog Princess, and while the cast is fairly one-dimensional, Imogene’s misadventures as an amphibian are entertaining. There’s enough light humor throughout to keep readers hooked. Ages 9–12.

June 1, 2013

Gr 5-8-Imogene Eustacia Wellington, 12, is sure that she is failing miserably at being a princess. The book her mother has given her, The Art of Being a Princess, tells her to be everything she thinks she is not. (The novel's chapter titles are princess rules, qualified by Imogene, a clever touch.) Taking a break from reading, she wanders down to the mill pond where she is conned into kissing a talking frog to break a witch's curse. Disgusted and shocked to find herself in the body of a frog and the so-called prince turned back into a common wainwright's boy, she is determined to break her spell without passing it on to another unsuspecting victim. Along the way, she is kidnapped by a traveling theater troupe and forced to perform with them. Humorous antics and lots of adventures eventually lead Imogene back to the castle and home. This fractured tale ends happily. Imogene learns that she does have what it takes to be a real princess and saves herself without needing a handsome prince to come to her rescue. Princess-loving girls will be charmed by this story.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH

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