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!