The Prince of the Pond: Otherwise Known as De Fawg Pin

by Donna Jo Napoli, Judy Schachner (Illustrator)

Overview

Who is that handsome green stranger?
 
None of the pond dwellers has ever seen the peculiar new frog before. They found him sitting in a pile of human clothes outside the hag’s house. What a strange frog he is! He gets his feet tangled when he tries to jump, he refuses to eat bugs, and he can’t tell a toad from a frog. He calls himself “De Fawg Pin,” and he’s about to turn pond life topsy-turvy!
 
“The frog prince motif has inspired many books, but few as original as this novel.”—Booklist
 
“An animal fantasy that fairy tale readers will relish.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101665688
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/01/1994
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Donna Jo Napoli is the author of many books for children and young adults including, The Magic Circle, Zel, and Stones in Water. She has won numerous awards, including the Golden Kite Award and the Sydney Taylor Award for Stones in Water.

Editorial Reviews

This variation on ``The Frog Prince'' is told by Jade, a watchful female frog who teaches the bewitched royal how to survive in the pond. Jade eventually becomes a frog wife and mother to a school of tadpoles. The romance between these two characters, somewhat convoluted and tinged with adult sensibilities, changes Jade's outlook and alters the traditional habits of the frog world. Incorporated into the story are absorbing observations about pond life from a factual perspective. However, Pin's attempts to humanize the frog world are questionable, as his eventual return to human form in front of his amphibian family leaves them saddened and bereft. The story is further weakened by an ongoing, supposedly comic device: the Prince, due to a problem with his tongue, indulges in a kind of baby talk, so that his words emerge as ``fawg'' for frog and ``obteh'' for lobster . Aided little by Schachner's rough-hewn black-and-white drawings (a few witty, some repetitious), the story, sadly, does not measure up to its premise. Ages 7-10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 4-6-- When a female frog comes upon an attractive but very confused male sitting near a pile of human clothing, she's appalled to see that his feet tangle when he tries to leap, that his tongue keeps falling out of his mouth, and that he doesn't seem to know the first thing about frog behavior or predators. Though she does persuade him to eat bugs, he never learns to speak clearly, with ``I'm De Fawg Pin'' being a typical utterance, and he stubbornly clings to odd ideas (e.g., that the young must be cared for). He also demonstrates reckless, very unfroglike courage, and while rescuing one of his 50 offspring, he suddenly disappears. ``Pin's'' companion never does figure out what's going on, but readers will; his situation and reeducation is defined in broad, comic strokes against an accurate, almost technical, picture of pond ecology. The froggy characters are clearly delineated, and their feelings for one another are genuine, to the point that many readers may greet the prince's reversion to human form with mixed emotions. Ornamental borders and Schachner's pictures of goggle-eyed, expressive frogs in detailed, natural settings give the book a formal, dignified look that plants the tongue even more firmly in cheek. --John Peters, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

The frog prince motif has inspired many books, but few as original as this novel, told from the point of view of Jade, a female frog. Jade meets the prince when he first becomes a frog, but she never quite catches on that he's more than just a frog. Pin (as the Prince calls himself, hampered in his speech by a long, fat tongue attached at the front of his mouth) is handsome, but strangely ignorant of everything from the joys of eating insects to the importance of avoiding reptiles, so Jade must teach him the ropes. Pin's bewilderment with pond life is matched by Jade's confusion with Pin's ways. Eventually, when the opportunity of kissing a princess presents itself, Pin leaps at it and disappears from Jade's life forever. Sometimes amusing and always convincing, this light fantasy raises questions about animals' thoughts and behavior and also explains a good deal about the lives of frogs. Lively drawings appear throughout the book, adding to its appeal for younger readers. An unusual choice for reading aloud in the classroom.

Carolyn Phelan

The frog prince motif has inspired many books, but few as original as this novel.”—Booklist
 
“An animal fantasy that fairy tale readers will relish.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review

"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."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher