East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Blending elements from traditional European folk tales and lore like the Germanic “Frog Prince” and the Scandinavian “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” Myer has written and illustrated with pencil, pen, and watercolor, a masterful fairy tale quest of great beauty, with a brave and persistent heroine.

I loved this folktale. The story follows an unmarried maiden and her quests. In order to heal her ailing father, the maiden goes to the spring from the south wind in order to fill a silver cup with its waters. Her cup falls and a frog asks for three wishes in order to retrieve it. She agrees and the frog first asks to visit her one day. She brings the water back to her father and his health restores and their families hardships relieved. The frog appears one day and asks her hand in marriage. The maiden throws the frog and it dies, it turning into a youthful man. Subsequently, the man is seized by demons to the kingdom "East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon." The Maiden then begins her quest, beseaching the salamander, who directs her to show more the unicorn, who directs her to the forsest, who directs her to the Great Fish, who then directs her to the North wind. The North wind takes her to the kingdom of the trolls and cleans their castle. She finds the youth frozen in a block of ice and melts it with fire. Upon fleeing with the youth, she shoots one the trolls with an arrow, it turning to wood, and flashes a mirror in front of the others, them turning to stone at their own hideous appearance. Everybody once turned to stone in the kingdom, wiggles free from their spell, the maiden and youth are married, and the two take over, them turning it into a beautiful place. The pictures are beautiful, the storyline is beautiful, and the message of perseverance through hardship and hope for love is fruitful throughout the tale. show less

A great book, well written and illustrated. It tells the tale of a woman who must travel to the ends of the Earth to find her love who is in the castle of the Troll Princess. The art is definitely the best part, and in the middle the text is mainly a device for drawing pictures of giant fish and trees. The story also gets quite violent at the end, but ends well, as it should.

Top-notch treatment of a great story. Mercer Mayer has his low points, but this artwork is stunning... intricate and fluid beyond description.

Not my favorite version of the story - the beginning is especially different. The illustrations are lovely, but just a little 'off.'

LOC Summary: The Moon, Father Forest, Great Fish of the Sea, and North Wind help a maiden rescue her true love from a troll princess in a faraway kingdom.

This is a bit "old" for Alex right now but I hope that someday either him or Maya will love as it is one of my own favorites.