The Frog Prince, Continued by Jon Scieska
I love fairy tales, and while some people may argue the original versions are always the best, I have always appreciated when an author takes something classic and spins it into something new. Sometimes these new adaptations are so brilliant I get jealous that I didn’t think of it first! Such is the case with “The Frog Prince, Continued,” a slightly dark “sequel” to The Frog Prince, in which author Jon Scieszka and illustrator Steve Johnson answer the question, what happens after Happily Ever After?
Our lovely princess, who kissed the lucky amphibian and released him from his spell, is, well, starting to regret that kiss. Because, while the prince is now in human form, he is still holding on to some of his froggy faults, like spending his afternoons sitting around catching flies. The prince, meanwhile, is also thinking life on his lily pad wasn’t so bad after all and decides to run away and find someone who will turn him back into a frog so he can happily hop off into the sunset.
The three witches he meets will be familiar to fans of fairy tales, but each fails at filling the prince’s request. Even the fairy godmother he runs into can’t help him, and it is after this final encounter that the prince realizes how lucky he is to have the princess and runs home to tell her how much he loves her. This time, though, their happily ever after has a twist of its own.