The beautiful princess kisses the frog.  The frog becomes a prince, and the prince and princess live happily ever after.  Right?  Well, unfortunately, in Jon Scieszka’s fractured fairy tale, the marriage is not one made in heaven.

The Princess is annoyed that the Prince keeps sticking out his tongue and hopping on the furniture. She wishes the Prince would just go out and slay a dragon.  The Prince, upset that the Princess won’t hang out at the pond with him, is miserable.

They need a change.  When the Princess says she wishes the Prince would just turn back into a frog, the Prince has an idea.  He leaves the castle in search of a witch who can turn him back into a frog.  He finds plenty of witches in the woods.  The first wants to cast a nasty spell on him so he won’t wake up Sleeping Beauty, the second wants to feed him a poison apple so he won’t bother Snow White, one invites him into her gingerbread house, the fourth turns him into a carriage.  He escapes from all four witches and sits, lonely, in the dark woods. The Prince realizes that he really belongs at home with the Princess who took a chance and kissed him when he was a frog.  So, the Prince goes home to his worried Princess and kisses her.  They both turn into frogs and live happily ever after.

This is a fun read aloud for older students who will love recognizing familiar fairy tales, Steve Johnson’s creative illustrations and Jon Scieszka’s funny re-imaginining of the Frog Prince.