I learned a lot about frogs and some about toads.  I now know the difference between them.  I liked how the book was divided into sections so that I got the cycles they live through.  I liked that pictures were provided but I would have liked to see a photograph of the frog or toad that was being spoken about above or below the information not just random frogs.  I liked the illustration of the poison dart frogs.  I wish they would have been named.  They were colorful and I had to guess which one was the yellow banded poison dart frog.  But I did enjoy the information.  This is a good overview for your 4-8 year old. 

Book source ~ NetGalley

Delilah and Isadora are half-sisters. After their father was sent to prison, their family’s reputation with the crème de la crème of society plummeted into the toilet. Until the day that the Perrault family fairy blesses Delilah with riches and an engagement to the man she loves. But does he love her in return or is he just after her new-found moola? At the same time, Isadora’s mother demands Izzy find the fairy and get a blessing, too. However, the fairy curses her instead. But is the curse a blessing in disguise?

This book has two separate yet concurrent stories. Delilah’s story is first and I like this one much better than Izzy’s story. I really like Delilah. She’s spunky, dominant and not an idiot even though she’s head-over-heels in love with the asshat Chas. Not a fan of him. Not even at the end. Poor Delilah. But she loves him so I hope she’s happy with her choice. At least she gets to flog him occasionally.

Story two is Izzy and Sam’s story. Isadora is a bitch and a useless snob. I can’t stand her. Sam is a moron for loving her. I love the curse the fairy bestows upon her worthless ass.  I wish it had never been lifted and that Sam came to his senses and found someone else. The end.

Genre:  Family / Fairy Tale / Manners / Magic

Year Published: 1996

Year Read:  2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Now to be honest, I had heard of this story through an episode of “Adventures from the Book of Virtues” and I really enjoyed it! So, when I finally got the chance of reading this story in book format, I was just as impressed with this book that was written by Charlotte Huck along with illustrations by Anita Lobel, as I was with the TV episode!

There once lived a widow who had two daughters: one was her daughter Francine, who was spoiled and cruel like her mother and the other was Renee, who is kindhearted and is actually her stepdaughter. Renee is often mistreated by her stepmother and Francine as they force her to do all the housework, including getting water from the spring every day. One day, when Renee had to go to the spring to gather water, she meets up with an old woman and the old woman asks Renee if she could have some water. Renee gladly gives the old woman some water from her cup and the old woman decided to give Renee a reward for her kindness. The reward ends up being that whenever Renee speaks, flowers, diamonds and pearls will fall from her mouth. When Renee showed this gift to her stepmother and Francine, her stepmother decided that Francine must receive the same gift as Renee and she forces Francine to go out and meet the old woman by the spring.

Will Francine get the same gift as Renee?

Read this book to find out!

I actually really enjoyed this version of the classic French tale about the power of true kindness! I have read many fairy tales and folktales that has a “Cinderella” vibe to them and this tale definitely has the classic “nice girl who lives with a cruel step family” element woven into the story! Charlotte Huck’s storytelling is fantastic as Renee is portrayed as being a resourceful female protagonist who tries to think her way out of troublesome situations (just as the author stated in her author’s note that she wanted to create a more resourceful protagonist rather than the stereotypical helpless female protagonist that is often shown in some fairy tales and folktales). I was also impressed with the idea about how Renee is rewarded for her kindness by having pearls and flowers coming out of her mouth every time she talks since I wondered to myself about how a regular person would feel about having jewelry coming out of their mouths (personally, if someone rewarded me with the gift of getting diamonds and flowers, I wouldn’t want them to come out of my mouth)! Anita Lobel’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at as the environment surrounding the characters is lushly drawn and they bring so much beauty to the story. I also loved the clothing that the characters wear as they represent the Renaissance Age and they bring an exotic tone to the story.

The only problem I have with this book is that in some of the artwork, the characters’ facial expressions look a little off, such as their mouths are almost opened in every panel and I have to wonder to myself about whether or not they really fit in well whenever the characters are getting angry or happy during a situation in the book.

Overall, “Toads and Diamonds” is a fantastic book about the power of kindness and how it can bring its own rewards. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of this book might be tiresome to smaller children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Had a lot of bad dates lately? These romances should give you hope.

The Frog Prince Retellings in Romance. HEA guarenteed. 

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy! 

1. Her Frog Prince by Shirley Jump

Bring together an uppity society princess with a scruffy marine biologist, then throw in a desperate matchmaker with faulty magic, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for disaster…or love. Magic and mayhem rock the boat 

2. The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien

It was his pheromones that did it. With one sniff, sex researcher Leigh Fromm recognizes that any offspring she might have with the mysterious stranger would have a better-than-average chance of surviving any number of impending pandemics. But when Leigh finds out that the handsome "someone" at her great aunt's wake is Prince Roman Habsburg von Lorraine of Austria, she suddenly doubts her instincts--not that she was intending to sleep with the guy. The royal house of Habsburg was once completely inbred, insanity and impotency among the highlights of their genetic pedigree. (The extreme "bulldog underbite" that plagued them wasn't called the Habsburg Jaw for nothing.) It doesn't matter that his family hasn't sat on a throne (other than the ones in their Toilette) since 1918, or that Austria is now a parliamentary democracy. Their lives couldn't be more different: Roman is routinely mobbed by paparazzi in Europe. Leigh is regularly mocked for having the social skills of a potted plant. Even if she suddenly developed grace, charm and a pedigree that would withstand the scrutiny of the press and his family, what exactly is she supposed to do with this would-have-been king of Austria who is in self-imposed exile in Denver, Colorado?

3. Water Song by Suzanne Weyn

Young, beautiful, and wealthy, Emma Pennington is accustomed to a very comfortable life. Although war rages abroad, she hardly feels its effect. She and her mother travel from their home in Britain to the family estate in Belgium, never imagining that the war could reach them there. But it does. 

Soon Emma finds herself stranded in a war-torn country, utterly alone. Enemy troops fight to take over her estate, leaving her with no way to reach her family, and no way out. 

With all of her attention focused on survival and escape, Emma hardly expects to find love. But the war will teach her that life is unpredictable, people aren't always what they seem, and magic is lurking everywhere.

4. Kiss the Frog by Alice Gaines

Pity sex with the shyest student in the lab? 

That’s what Felice Larson’s friends have blackmailed her into. Dev VonRamsberg seems nice enough, if you can see past the hair that hangs in his face, the glasses, and the corduroy slacks. It’ll be embarrassing for her and possibly humiliating for him, but if Felice doesn’t follow through, the others will let their professor know she ditched on a critical research trip. So she borrows a key and lets herself into Dev’s apartment in the middle of the night and promptly gets the surprise of her life. 

Christian Devlin Philippe Pascal VonRamsberg, Crown Prince, and Heir Apparent to the Throne of Danislova, has lusted after his co-student, Felice Larson, for months but hasn’t followed through because of his obligations back home. But now that she’s literally snuck into his bed, he takes full advantage, much to their mutual delight. Dev’s been hiding out in plain sight in the United States so he can get his graduate degree and enjoy a more or less normal life before he has to return to Danislova to fulfill his duties to his country. He never expected to fall for an American woman, but now that he has, how can he give her a happy ending? 

Felice discovers that she’s kissed a frog and won a prince, complete with a whirlwind tour of his lovely homeland in Eastern Europe. She falls in love with Danislova and the current Prince Royal, Dev’s father—a man closer to a father figure for her than her own parents. Unfortunately, Dev’s duties to his country require that he marry the right sort of woman…the wife his father has already selected for him. Will Felice and Dev face heartbreak, or can love triumph over tradition? 

5. The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

Princess Emeralda isn't exactly an ideal princess. Her laugh is like a donkey's bray rather than tinkling bells, she trips over her own feet and she does NOT like Prince Jorge, whom her mother hopes she will marry. But if Emma ever thought to escape her life, she never expected it to happen by turning into a frog! When convinced to kiss a frog so he might return to being a Prince, somehow the spell is reversed and Emma turns into a frog herself! Thus begins the adventure - a quest to return to human form.

Fascinating and hilarious characters ranging from a self-conscious but friendly bat to a surprisingly loyal snake and a wise old green witch confirm that readers won't soon forget this madcap story! A fantastic debut from the talented E.D. Baker.

6. Kiss That Frog by Cate Rowan

A cynical Los Angeles artist reluctantly pet-sits for her young niece's frog and discovers magic in the terrarium--in the form of a sexy enchanted prince.

7. Kissing Frogs by Laura Marie Altom

Shunned by the scientific world because of her erroneous reporting of the discovery of a new breed of frogs, biologist Lucy Gordon is reduced to teaching science in a British boarding school, but the worst of her downfall is the damage done to her esteemed biologist father. Then one day a frog the likes of which she's never seen appears. Excited because this time she's really found a new amphibian, Lucy kisses it and immediately finds herself with a naked man claiming to be a medieval prince. If only Prince Wolfe Graye had married the sorceress' daughter! Now that he's been kissed, Wolfe must convince this modern woman to declare her love for him before the next full moon in order to break the spell. Otherwise, it's back to frogdom. Lucy is in a real quandary. If the prince stays human, she'll lose her chance at fame and her father's forgiveness. If not, Lucy may lose the man of her dreams.

8. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

     When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

     The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

9. Frogs & Toads by Stacy Lynn Carroll

One kiss can change the future, for better or for worse. Belle and her cousins have conquered their fears. Now as they navigate their way through the dating world, they start to see a "happily ever after" on the horizon. But when an unexpected school assignment forces them to examine their past, the Princess sisters realize they have a lot of questions about the fathers they've never met. Secrets are revealed, long lost family members are discovered, and now the girls must decide who belongs in their future and who should be kept in the past.

10. Prince of Kisses by Colleen Shannon

Daughter of wealth and privilege, lovely Charlaine Kimball was known to Victorian society as the Ice Princess. But when a brash intruder dared take a king's ransom in jewels from her private safe, indignation burned away her usual cool reserve. And when the handsome rogue presumed to steal a kiss from her untouched lips, forbidden longing set her soul ablaze.

Illegitimate son of a penniless Frenchwoman, Devlin Rhodes was nothing but a lowly bounder to the British aristocrats who snubbed him. But his leapfrogging ambition engaged him in a dangerous game. Now he would have to win Charlaine's hand in marriage- and have her begging for the kiss that would awaken his heart and transform him into the man he was always meant to.

Vote for your favoite on my Goodreads list: The Frog Prince Romance 

Toad Words and Other Stories is a collection of three poems and eight stories. Almost all of them feature familiar tales that have been twisted or tweaked somehow. Be warned, my review spoils some of those twists.

If you like the cover, I should mention that there's a cute toad illustration on the title page as well.

“It Has Come To My Attention”

A poem about a person who isn't interested in the aspects of fairy tales that they're supposed to be. This was okay, but, honestly, I'm not a poetry person.

“Toad Words”

This story is a twist on the “Diamonds and Toads” tale, in which one daughter speaks and jewels fall out of her mouth and one speaks and toads fall out of her mouth. In this version, neither daughter is a particularly terrible person, and both have long since adjusted to their gift/curse. The POV character is the one who speaks and frogs and toads fall out of her mouth. When she learns that various amphibians are going extinct, she decides to do something about it.

This was nice and actually made me wish a curse like that could exist. The main character certainly made the best use of it that she could.

“The Wolf and the Woodsman”

In this “Little Red Riding Hood” retelling, a little girl called Turtle goes to her grandmother's house only to find her grandmother and a wolf waiting together for the woodsman, a man her grandmother had gotten to know and who had become increasingly controlling and violent.

So in this retelling we have the wolf reimagined as the grandmother's friend, and the woodsman reimagined as a threatening figure whose disturbing behavior has been escalating. I liked it, even though it was pretty predictable once I realized how everyone's roles had been tweaked. This was the first story that made it clear that these fairy tales were Not For Kids.

“Bluebeard's Wife”

Based on the “Bluebeard” story. Bluebeard's last wife had grown up with sisters who never respected her privacy, so she was determined to respect her husband's. When he mentioned that there was a locked door in their manor that she must never open, she never opened it and, as a result, had many pleasant years with her husband. It wasn't until after his death that she learned what he had been hiding.

One thing I liked about these retellings is that they looked at how these characters might react to their stories if they were real people. Althea, Bluebeard's last wife, was a person trying to reconcile the decent husband she'd lived with for 27 years with the horrors she later learned he'd been hiding, that she'd only escaped because she'd allowed him his privacy. I really felt for her.

“Loathly”

A “Loathly Lady” story told from the perspective of the loathly lady. This story was dark. The main character was turned into a monster, forced by magic to kill, and eventually forced to rape a man who agreed to terrible things in order to survive. Then she was raped by him after she transformed back into a human.

I had to take a break after reading this one. “The Wolf and the Woodsman” was dark, but at least the ending had some justice in it. This was just dark and heavy and left me feeling horrified for all the characters.

“The Sea Witch Sets the Record Straight”

This one is based on “The Little Mermaid.” The sea witch explains that she didn't take the mermaid's voice for herself, but rather to keep the girl from blabbing all the ocean's secrets to the prince.

Like “Toad Words,” this story has a bit of an environmental twist to it. The lighter tone was a great relief after “Loathly.” Although the sea witch was still a little villainous, she wasn't unkind. The mermaid was a bit silly and tragic, but there was still a chance that she could go back to her old life.

“Never”

A chilling reimagining of Peter Pan as a monster and a tyrant, from the perspective of a girl in his “Lost Boys” gang.

Yeah, I don't think there's a happy ending for this POV character, although I wish there were. The author did a great job twisting Peter Pan into something horrible that still fit within the framework of the original story.

“Bait”

One of the collection's three poems. I think it might be based on “The Snow Queen.” It was okay, but, again, I'm not really a poetry person.

“Night”

One of the few stories in this collection that isn't based on and doesn't reference any stories (as far as I know). It pictures “Night” as a theater production that has been going on for billions of years. I thought it was cute, and one of the most quotable stories in the whole collection. My favorite: “The excitement, that first time when there, in the third row, a self-replicating amino acid was spotted, clutching its ticket and peering around with the nearsightedness of something that lacks sense organs, and which can only be called an organism in the loosest sense of the word. It couldn't see the show, and the show couldn't see it without a microscope, but still, the tension in the air was electric.” (57)

“Boar & Apples”

A “Snow White” retelling. I'm pretty sure this was the longest story out of the bunch.

I loved the efforts of the huntsman and the other servants to quietly defy their increasingly cruel and disturbed queen. I liked Arrin, and although Snow started off as a fairly “blah” character, she gradually grew stronger and more capable. And the pigs were a great twist on the “seven dwarves” aspect.

Although it felt like the ending happened too soon and was a bit too sudden, I still really enjoyed this retelling. Even if I hadn't liked any of the other stories, I think Toad Words and Other Stories would have been worth it for this story alone.

“Odd Season”

After “Boar & Apples,” this poem was a letdown. To be honest, I didn't really get it. I felt it was the weakest work in the entire collection.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)