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Fiction - General & Miscellaneous, Folklore - General & Miscellaneous
The Horned Toad Prince by Jackie Mims Hopkins — book cover

The Horned Toad Prince

by Jackie Mims Hopkins, Michael Austin
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Overview

A spirited, contemporary retelling of the classic fairy tale featuring a hilarious, Southwestern spin.

In this retelling of "The Frog Prince," a spunky cowgirl loses her new sombrero and is helped by a horned toad on the understanding that she will do three small favors for him.

Synopsis

A spirited, contemporary retelling of the classic fairy tale featuring a hilarious, Southwestern spin.

Publishers Weekly

Hopkins (Tumbleweed Tom on the Texas Trail) spices up the Brothers Grimm's "The Frog Prince" by setting it in the American Southwest and casting its heroine as a spunky cowgirl. Here, horse-riding, lasso-wielding Reba Jo loses not a ball, but her brand-new hat, down the bottom of a dusty well, from whence a homely horned toad retrieves it. His price--Reba Jo must feed him some chili, play him a song on her guitarra and let him take a siesta in her sombrero. The unusual perspectives and broad humor of Austin's (Thirteen Monsters Who Should Be Avoided) over-the-top airbrush illustrations in shades of violet and gold capture Reba Jo's comical disgust as she tries to wiggle out of her unpalatable bargain as well as the ugly toad's insouciant charm as he connives his way free from his curse. Is marriage in store for our plucky heroine and the handsome caballero she frees with her kiss? The deliciously surprising double-twist ending leaves readers free to decide for themselves. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Hopkins (Tumbleweed Tom on the Texas Trail) spices up the Brothers Grimm's "The Frog Prince" by setting it in the American Southwest and casting its heroine as a spunky cowgirl. Here, horse-riding, lasso-wielding Reba Jo loses not a ball, but her brand-new hat, down the bottom of a dusty well, from whence a homely horned toad retrieves it. His price--Reba Jo must feed him some chili, play him a song on her guitarra and let him take a siesta in her sombrero. The unusual perspectives and broad humor of Austin's (Thirteen Monsters Who Should Be Avoided) over-the-top airbrush illustrations in shades of violet and gold capture Reba Jo's comical disgust as she tries to wiggle out of her unpalatable bargain as well as the ugly toad's insouciant charm as he connives his way free from his curse. Is marriage in store for our plucky heroine and the handsome caballero she frees with her kiss? The deliciously surprising double-twist ending leaves readers free to decide for themselves. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

The Frog Prince moves to the American Southwest. Instead of a princess, we find guitar-twanging, lasso-ing Reba Jo, losing her new cowboy hat down an old well. When a horned toad fetches it for her, she tries to run away before fulfilling the bargain, "tres pequeños favors," she made with him. But he follows her home, where her father insists she feed him some chili, play him her guitarra, and allow him a siesta in her sombrero. "A deal's a deal." She almost balks when he asks for a kiss, but of course she finally agrees. The end, however, is not what we, or Reba Jo, have expected. Austin sets the tale in appropriately rope-framed pictures and vignettes in tones of sky-blue and sandy orange. The characters are slightly exaggerated, not quite cartoons, and the action is constant, with the actors breaking out of the frames. There's just enough landscape and house to create a regional twang, while a Spanish-to-English word list helps anglos understand the bits of Spanish sprinkled throughout. 2000, Peachtree Publishers Ltd., Ages 4 to 8, $15.95. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz—Children's Literature

Book Details

Published
March 1, 2000
Publisher
Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Pages
32
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781561451951

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