The Prince of the Pond: Otherwise Known as De Fawg Pin
Grade 3-6-This retold fairy tale has its poignant moments, but it's also hilarious at times. Most of the funny bits come when the prince who's been turned into a frog tries to communicate. He can't pronounce words so well because he doesn't know how to roll up his tongue (hence the subtitle), so it makes a great read-aloud. Pin bravely taunts a dangerous spiked turtle with mangled insults like "you one dumb tuh-tuh," hops to safety, then spits a rock at him. A female frog makes earnest attempts to understand the extraordinary title character. She's a smart little amphibian, but readers know exactly why Pin is such a puzzle to her, which makes her efforts to figure him out all the more humorous. Science Is Fun Award: Readers will enjoy this funny fairy tale, but they will also learn about what makes frogs different from toads, why they have two vocal sacs, and how the whole mating thing works.Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.