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Monday, July 3, 2017

Book Review: The Frog Prince by Mike Klaassen

Book Info

Genre: Fairy Tales, Fantasy
A CLASSIC TALE AS NEVER BEFORE TOLD
Long ago in magical realm, seventeen-year-old Prince Gerit reneges on a promise and is turned into a frog. He struggles to adapt to living in a frog’s body, feeding himself, and avoiding predators, and then he sets off to find a princess who can undo the spell. Gerit finds Princess Anneliese, but she refuses to kiss him. In a stalemate that forces them to spend time together, Anneliese and Gerit learn to enjoy each other’s company. When Anneliese is faced with marrying a man she does not love, Gerit persuades her to kiss him and turn him back into a prince.

My Review

One of the Best I've Read!!!

In the category of fairy tale retellings, this has got to be one of the best, if not the best, that I have read so far! A delightful tale that will give readers a realistic -- albeit without regard to the inclusion of magic that is necessary and pivotal in the story -- account of how The Frog Prince unfolded. This, together with a twinge of romance masterfully crafted into the story, made for a wonderful afternoon read. A perfect story to tell kids, a nice refresher for adults.
The story starts with how young Prince Gerit was turned into a frog by a witch and given a condition that he can only turn back into human if a princess would kiss him three times. And so the adventure starts for Gerit to travel to a neighboring kingdom, where he would find Princess Anneliese. Understandably, Princess Anneliese was appalled with the thought of having to kiss a frog, much less three times. But the initial hate and disgust gradually turned into an unlikely friendship. The only question now is how will the story end. All I can say without revealing too much is that all the loose ends were tied together and you couldn't have asked for a better ending.
The story does give a moral lesson on keeping promises. However I wouldn't entirely blame Prince Gerit for giving in to whatever the witch demanded in the face of a life and death situation. In any case, one way to look at it is perhaps turning into a frog turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the ordeal certainly made Gerit a stronger and more mature person. And besides without it, Gerit wouldn't have been able to meet princess Anneliese.
A definite 5 stars. I look forward to reading other fairy tale retellings by Mike Klaassen!
Rating: 5 Stars

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