The Frog Prince, Continued

I've been a fan of Jon Scieszka's humorous takes on traditional fairytales since I ran across his version of the Three Little Pigs (an instant classic in our house), so it was an easy chice to pick up his version of the Frog Prince as well. Unlike the story of the three little pigs, which is told from the point of view of the wolf, this story acts as a sequel which continues the adventures of the Frog Prince and his Princess after their happily ever after kiss. Except that it's not so happily ever after as we all expected - turns out it's harder than we think to ditch the frog-like behaviour and acclimatize to life as a human! After he runs away from his happily-ever-after the Prince runs into three different witches (all familiar to show more readers from other stories) before he finds his new and improved happy ending. The question now remains: how will the Princess adjust to life in the pond?! show less

After being disenchanted by the Princess' kiss and getting married, the former Frog Prince can't seem to live happily ever after. So he sets out to find a witch to turn him back into a frog, meeting witches from many other fairy tales but not having much luck. In the end, his happy ending comes from a surprising reverse. The illustrations are dark, angular and curiously lit, in an extreme caricature style that most kids seem to like.

A humorous counter to the classic fairy-tale ending, with a some serious character development. (Looking around, I see a bunch of kidlit cheat sites claiming that the witches were the antagonists in this one, but I have to say that the Frog Prince is his own antagonist!) This is a good read for kids old show more enough to understand the references at all, especially with the goofy illustrations and the repeating text. Even adult and teen readers can enjoy it. show less

I wish the princess's behavior at the end was foreshadowed; as is, it seems as if she's under more than one spell and has had her agency stolen. Otherwise, cute and clever.

I have always wondered how happy "happily ever after" was. Not so much apparently. This book was a complete joy to read and it taught a valuable lesson of appreciating what you have. This may be children's lit but needs to be read by every married couple out there. I thought about my life and how great I have it despite the occasional down days.

I would definitely include this in any summer reading program or postmodern programming unit for young readers.

Scieszka, J. (1991). The Frog Prince Continued. New York: Viking.

0670834211

Appetizer: The story of the Princess and the Frog Prince continues! It turns out the passion has faded for the royal couple and they're not happily ever after...after all. So, the Frog Prince decides to return to his frog form by asking several witches for help.

The poor Frog Prince--who only vaguely looks like a frog despite his name--has trouble finding a witch that will help him, since the witches don't want him interrupting their plans for Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or any other princesses they mean to harm. (Ugh, why does a witch always have to have it out for a princess? You'd imagine princesses would have done a better job of guarding against the curses of show more witches.... Don't steal that idea. It's mine!)

Steve Johnson's illustrations are great, dark and humorous. I especially like that, as a human, the prince still looks vaguely frog-like. I thought it was a nice touch. And I know a few weeks ago, I went on and on about how great it was that Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith could work together so well, but could also complete independent projects that were of equal quality. But, I have to admit, it was strange actually reading one of Scieszka's books that wasn't illustrated by Lane Smith. It was kinda like cheating a little....

Dinner Conversation:

"Well, let's just say they lived sort of happily for a long time.
Okay, so they weren't happy.
In fact, they were miserable.
"Stop sticking your tongue out like that," nagged the princess."

"But then he reread his book. And it said right there at the end of his story: "They lived happily ever after. The End." So he stayed in the castle and drove the Princess crazy."

"I can't believe I actually kissed your slimy frog lips. Sometimes I think we would both be better off if you were still a frog."

"I'm the Frog Prince."
"That's funny. You don't look like a frog.
Well, no matter. If you're a prince, you're a prince. And I'll have to cast a nasty spell on you."

To Go with the Meal:

Before sharing The Frog Prince Continued, it is necessary that young readers be familiar with the original story (and several other fairy tales--including Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, etc.) . In the U.S. we tend to assume kids will know it, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing two read alouds instead of one. Nothing wrong at all. It's even less wrong to share this book before or after seeing Disney's The Princess and the Frog.

After sharing this picture book a teacher could prompt students to write their own continuation of other fairy tales.

On a larger scale, a teacher could use this book to discuss having a sense of belonging in a place or with people. Also, since the Frog Prince and the Princess consider breaking up at the beginning, a teacher could take that initial tension in many different directions, discussion-wise. For example, a teacher could mention how friends should talk out their problems or how sometimes parents just may not belong together anymore or sometimes it's only through everyone making a few sacrifices that they can find a way to work things out. And on and on.

Tasty Rating: !!! show less

This is a book that twists a very well known story of the Princess and the Frog, it is interesting and starts off with a realistic relationship between the husband and the wife. This story may help readers be engaged and want to read on to find out what happens because stories like this are not commonly seen for readers. This is a funny, interesting, uncommon story.

The Frog Prince Continued picked up where the original tale ended. The Prince and Princess are not living happily ever after, so much so that the prince seeks out the witch to reverse the spell, making him a frog again. Unfortunately, none of the witches can help him and one even turns him into a carriage by mistake, my the time he makes it home, well after midnight, the prince and princess have missed each other so much, their kiss turns them both into frogs who live happily ever after.

This was such a good story with dark, abstract illustrations. It combined the elements of several fairy tales. The narration and dialogue were at times hilarious.

Students could rewrite their favorite fairy tales into something funnier or stranger than show more happily ever after. Could go with an ecology lesson about environments where amphibians are found or about amphibians. show less