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The Frog Princess
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.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 1994
99 people want to read
About the author
J. Patrick Lewis
135 books104 followersJ. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 13, 2017
Much different than the traditional Frog Prince meets Princess story. It starts out like a traditional fairy tale & then, probably because it's a Russian folk tale, becomes an interesting epic. I prefer this Russian fairy tale over the one I grew up with.
Vasalisa is given a lot of autonomy which is not something I'm used to seeing for young, pretty women in fairy tales at the time. She's a clever & self sufficient, sorceress, trained under Baba Yaga, who is written as a great chaotic neutral character. Prince Ivan is kind of a mess who unintentionally causes a lot of grief partially due to his insecurities, but he's well meaning, & it has a villain named Koschei the Undying (who shows up in a lot of Russian folklore tales like Baba Yaga) so you know it's going to be good. This isn't the exact story I read, but Goodreads doesn't seem to have a lot of the original versions of the fairy tales on here.
Vasalisa is given a lot of autonomy which is not something I'm used to seeing for young, pretty women in fairy tales at the time. She's a clever & self sufficient, sorceress, trained under Baba Yaga, who is written as a great chaotic neutral character. Prince Ivan is kind of a mess who unintentionally causes a lot of grief partially due to his insecurities, but he's well meaning, & it has a villain named Koschei the Undying (who shows up in a lot of Russian folklore tales like Baba Yaga) so you know it's going to be good. This isn't the exact story I read, but Goodreads doesn't seem to have a lot of the original versions of the fairy tales on here.
April 17, 2020
A great Tsar had three sons. The Tsar told his sons to string their bows, shot as far away as possible into the heart of Russia. The Tsar commanded that whoever the arrow finds will be the bride of the son whose arrow found the prize.
Two sons were successful in obtaining beautiful women. Alas, the third son's arrow hit a frog. The frog is actually Vasilisa the Wise who is incredibly beautiful but trapped by her father's spell.
The third son must free Vasilisa from the spell and she will manifest as the beautiful, intelligent person she is.
Two sons were successful in obtaining beautiful women. Alas, the third son's arrow hit a frog. The frog is actually Vasilisa the Wise who is incredibly beautiful but trapped by her father's spell.
The third son must free Vasilisa from the spell and she will manifest as the beautiful, intelligent person she is.
April 14, 2023
Beautiful Russian fairy tale with adventure and love. The illustrations is worth the read itself.
March 24, 2015
This sort of illustration just leaves me gasping. I cannot imagine how someone can illustrate in this way. I would love to see it done. It's spectacular to say the least, and the complete opposite to the instinctive, shorthand style of someone like Quentin Blake. I like the formal and highly embellished framework in which the fairytale is set, in particular when you get to the traditional sets of three events. They highlight the fairytale format. I'm referring to the pages with the bear, the falcon and the pike.
This fairy tale was quite intriguing in that it combined several fairy tales I had read before into the one story... Hans My Hedgehog; and another one with the bride being a turtle that I'd read recently, where in this case she's a frog; The Frog Prince (naturally) and many other tales where the young hero meets animals or people on the journey and shows mercy, later receiving help from them.
There's something lovely about sumptuous illustrations being used for a formal fairy tale, especially one that begins in a king's court, where there is all manner of opportunity to depict gorgeous fabrics, jewellery, architecture and people dancing in fancy clothes! Loved it.
This fairy tale was quite intriguing in that it combined several fairy tales I had read before into the one story... Hans My Hedgehog; and another one with the bride being a turtle that I'd read recently, where in this case she's a frog; The Frog Prince (naturally) and many other tales where the young hero meets animals or people on the journey and shows mercy, later receiving help from them.
There's something lovely about sumptuous illustrations being used for a formal fairy tale, especially one that begins in a king's court, where there is all manner of opportunity to depict gorgeous fabrics, jewellery, architecture and people dancing in fancy clothes! Loved it.
February 29, 2012
Recommended Ages: grades 1-4
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.
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.
February 23, 2020
Rating: 3.5
Summary: "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."
Interesting tale, beautifully illustrated.
Summary: "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."
Interesting tale, beautifully illustrated.
January 19, 2024
A Russian fairy tale re-told in the classic, lyrical style of repetition story-telling. And the illustrations are gorgeous! Every inch is well detailed in embroidery and jewels and flowers and scales and any detail that can be added is put in in this hyper-realistic style of amazing artwork.
December 28, 2016
This is a phenomenal picture book retelling of the story of Vasilisa the Wise. The illustrations are magnificent.
February 28, 2018
A Russian folktale about paying attention to the needs of others and you will be rewarded.
December 12, 2018
Lovely illustrations and solidly good story, just didn't win me over to loving it for some reason. My kids liked it.
December 6, 2019
The illustrations are amazing!
January 30, 2020
The illustrations were breathtaking.
September 4, 2021
I really liked this tale! The story was nice, interresting, and the pictures are just to die for!
May 16, 2024
This version of the tale is new to me, yet I saw echoes of "The Swan Princess" as well as "The Frog Prince" within it. I found the artwork stunning and the story fascinating.
August 29, 2013
I chose this book because the title intrigued me. I had heard of The Frog Prince, but never The Frog Princess. This Russian folktale, retold by storyteller J. Patrick Lewis, was appropriately illustrated by a Russian artist, Gennady Spirin. This book is full of detail-oriented and elaborate illustrations. My 6-year old daughter enjoyed the rich illustrations as well as the story. The Frog Princess is about a frog who becomes the wife of one of the Russian tzar's 3 sons. She is mocked by her husband's brothers and assumed to be worthless and incapable of any task. As the story unfolds we find out that these assumptions are wrong, as the little frog wife astounds everyone. The Frog Princess captured the attention of my children, ages 6,9, and 11. I would rate it as being suitable for a teacher read-aloud book in grades 1 through 4. Some of the language in the book includes uncommon words and phrases. These words could be used in a vocabulary activity to further understanding. I would recommend this book for young readers in grades 2 through 4.
July 14, 2010
This version of the Frog Princess is a Russian fairytale. Although I definitely take issue with the typical girl-needing-to-be-rescued situations that occur, this tale and the art is engaging and fun. The drawings and the story of a Tsar's son, reveals the opulence of that time period of Russian history. If you couple this with a discussion on the Cold War and addressing the Russian revolution, it could give them a window on perhaps why there was a revolution there, the disparity, etc as well as see connections to pop culture as the new movie came out recently.
December 2, 2009
Great story, which was a mix of the Frog Prince, Baba Yaga and the fairy tale where the father/daughter are cursed and the prince needs animal's help to break the spell. Fantastic illustrations by Gennady Spirin, who put the characters in rich Russian embroidered robes with wallpaper on every page behind the main illustration and the frog holding the Prince's arrow on every page as well.
February 7, 2010
I love this book partly because it is a story that is not very familiar in the US, but it has many fairy tale motifs from more familiar stories. Plus, the prince is kind of an idiot and has to proved himself before he can be with the princess. The illustrations are amazing. Anytime I've used this in class, the artists have gone crazy over it, studying and imitating the art work.
June 11, 2023
The three sons of the tsar shoot arrows into the woods to find a bride. The youngest son, Ivan, finds his arrow in the mouth of a frog and, reluctantly, must marry her. But at night, unbeknownst to the prince, the frog turns into a beautiful woman. But when Vasilisa appears at the ball and Prince Ivan finds the frog skin and burns it, Vasilisa disappears and the Prince must find her.
December 17, 2011
This book is a Russian version of the book I have previously read. It is a longer version and the prince has to do more in order to get the beautiful maiden. The illustrations in this book are very beautiful as well.
August 3, 2011
Such a great book... and not just because I am a froggie lover!! The art work for the story is beautiful!!
February 11, 2011
Absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Story is just o.k.
August 28, 2012
Beautiful! I loved the witch Baba Yaga, great name or what?
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews