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The Frog Princess
Fifteen detailed, full-color illustrations capture the magic of this retelling of the classic Russian tale about the Czar's youngest son and a bewitched, beautiful princess
31 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
17 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Isele
5 books2 followersThis mother of four lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
*Senior Program Director at the Great Bay Foundation
*Founder and President of CyberSeniors.org, an award-winning, nonprofit organization designed to provide multi-lingual basic computer training to seniors.
*30-year distinguished career as an Editor in publishing.
*Taught Creative Writing at Wesleyan University, the University of Maine, as well as numerous writers’ workshops in the United States, France, and Italy.
*Senior Program Director at the Great Bay Foundation
*Founder and President of CyberSeniors.org, an award-winning, nonprofit organization designed to provide multi-lingual basic computer training to seniors.
*30-year distinguished career as an Editor in publishing.
*Taught Creative Writing at Wesleyan University, the University of Maine, as well as numerous writers’ workshops in the United States, France, and Italy.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 31, 2016
This fairy tale story I’d read in my childhood and had always recalled as much more entertaining and lovely than it turned out here. It's rather too similar to the Maria Morevna tale, with another Prince Ivan losing his bewitched wife out of disobedience/impatience over a very simple task, and who has help against the evil wizard Koschei the Deathless by animals indebted to him. As for the artwork, it's serviceable, but unimaginative.
March 13, 2021
Michael Hague is one of my favorite contemporary illustrators, in part because his work is evocative of the Golden Age of illustration. Late last year, I tracked down a whole bunch of the books he’s illustrated, and this is one of the more obscure ones, out of print though it’s not hard to find on the used book market.
The text is a modern retelling of a Russian folktale originally collected and recorded by Aleksandr Afanasiev (1826-1871). I’m not very familiar with Russian folktales, and there were elements here that seemed odd. Like a house that stands on chicken legs (this made me think of Hiyao Miyazaki’s ), or when the hero is told the way to defeat the hero is to break the needle that’s in an egg that’s in a duck that’s in a rabbit that’s in a chest that’s in a tree under guard. It was the duck inside the rabbit bit that stretched my imagination a bit far. Of course, these elements aren’t odder than a romance with a girl who is half fish or a witch living in a house made of gingerbread, they’re just part of a culture I’m not as familiar with. It is interesting that as with Western European folktales by Grimm, Andersen and Perrault, the number three plays an important role. There are three brothers, there are three tasks for their wives.
The story also has a bit of a two-part feel, a little like Rapunzel. Both can end with resolving the central conflict (Rapunzel and the prince defeating the witch, the Frog taking her human form). But in the longer version of Rapunzel, there’s a whole second quest when the prince falls from the tower, gets blinded by thorns, and ends up wandering the forest and she has to go find him—I think in some versions she also gives birth to twins during this time. Similarly, here, the story could end simply with the frog showing up at the ball as the beautiful princess. But because of the prince’s foolish action, she is forced to change into a dove and fly off and he has to rescue her (hence the Russian doll style thing in a thing—wait, Russian doll, Russian folktale, hmm...]. Granted, before she goes, she does give him really specific directions, though some math is involved (three-times-nine—again with the threes).
I liked the illustrations. I don’t think they’re Hague’s finest work, they’re a bit lacking in contrast so the key details don’t stand out. But they’re still exceptionally well done. I’m not sure many illustrators do work like this, where the art has that feel of an inserted color plate, and could be cut out and framed as art. It seems the market has changed and now illustrations are perhaps more woven with the text, and often simpler in style. There’s something about how this book is illustrated that feels early 20th century in a way that appeals to me.
The text is a modern retelling of a Russian folktale originally collected and recorded by Aleksandr Afanasiev (1826-1871). I’m not very familiar with Russian folktales, and there were elements here that seemed odd. Like a house that stands on chicken legs (this made me think of Hiyao Miyazaki’s ), or when the hero is told the way to defeat the hero is to break the needle that’s in an egg that’s in a duck that’s in a rabbit that’s in a chest that’s in a tree under guard. It was the duck inside the rabbit bit that stretched my imagination a bit far. Of course, these elements aren’t odder than a romance with a girl who is half fish or a witch living in a house made of gingerbread, they’re just part of a culture I’m not as familiar with. It is interesting that as with Western European folktales by Grimm, Andersen and Perrault, the number three plays an important role. There are three brothers, there are three tasks for their wives.
The story also has a bit of a two-part feel, a little like Rapunzel. Both can end with resolving the central conflict (Rapunzel and the prince defeating the witch, the Frog taking her human form). But in the longer version of Rapunzel, there’s a whole second quest when the prince falls from the tower, gets blinded by thorns, and ends up wandering the forest and she has to go find him—I think in some versions she also gives birth to twins during this time. Similarly, here, the story could end simply with the frog showing up at the ball as the beautiful princess. But because of the prince’s foolish action, she is forced to change into a dove and fly off and he has to rescue her (hence the Russian doll style thing in a thing—wait, Russian doll, Russian folktale, hmm...]. Granted, before she goes, she does give him really specific directions, though some math is involved (three-times-nine—again with the threes).
I liked the illustrations. I don’t think they’re Hague’s finest work, they’re a bit lacking in contrast so the key details don’t stand out. But they’re still exceptionally well done. I’m not sure many illustrators do work like this, where the art has that feel of an inserted color plate, and could be cut out and framed as art. It seems the market has changed and now illustrations are perhaps more woven with the text, and often simpler in style. There’s something about how this book is illustrated that feels early 20th century in a way that appeals to me.
October 2, 2019
I’ve read similar tales before, but parts of this translation got my dander up. Ivan is pretty whiny, Vasilisa kind of cheats and has her maidens do the work for her... then when Ivan messes up, he cries for almost a year before going after her! Sigh. He’s bossy too.
Anyway, the illustrations are great, well detailed for the Russian tale, though I thought there should be more of them. It’s pretty text heavy.
Anyway, the illustrations are great, well detailed for the Russian tale, though I thought there should be more of them. It’s pretty text heavy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2011
Muted illustrations add to the text in this retelling of the Russian fairy tale of a young prince who marries a frog. This a great book to read aloud and discuss. Strong female character
February 16, 2016
Very long and wordy picture book, but a wonderful retelling of a Russian tale, with lovely illustrations by Michael Hague.
October 2, 2019
I love this classic Russian fairy tale. It intrigues me with all the possibilities of a deeper look for a chapter book.
April 23, 2017
I adore this book. This has been a favorite since childhood. Lovely illustrations. A very little known fairy tale, different from any other versions of the general "frog prince" story that I've seen.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews