The Hog Prince
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Eldon and Petunia live in a sty on the castle grounds. As they watch the royal carriage pass by, he dreams of living the princely life because "…princes live in luxury, and they always get the girl. What's not to like about that?" Fairy Miranda appears and says she can break Eldon's spell. All he has to do is kiss his true love. He is thrilled; Petunia is skeptical. As the porker sets off to find his true love, she follows behind. He tries to sneak a kiss from cinder girl Ella, Lady Aurora at the spinning wheel, and Mother Goose herself. In all cases, his advances are badly received. As he's looking at his reflection in the lake and bemoaning his fate, he doesn't see Petunia sneaking up behind him. Her kiss startles him and he falls into the mud hole. When he asks what that was for, she responds, "You just don't get it, do you?" It takes him a while, but he does get it and ventures back to the sty where Petunia is waiting. Fairy Miranda, it turns out, was looking for a frog, not a hog. The large acrylic illustrations are perfect for the story. The animal faces are expressive and the backgrounds are lush. This is a great read-aloud that cheerfully fractures many fairy tales all at once.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.