Saturday 3 May 2014

The Legend of Frog by Guy Bass (Children's, 7 years +, 9/10E)

January 2014, Stripes Publishing, 240 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Themes: Secrets, lies, misunderstandings galore, a spoilt princess, magic, invaders, chaos


Content: loads of humour, both minor and major peril

Summary from Stripes Publishing
The Legend of Frog is the first book in a brand new three-part series by award-winning and best-selling author, Guy Bass (Stitch Head and Stitch Head: The Pirate’s Eye). A mash-up of fairy tale, fantasy and science fiction with a hearty helping of humour, The Legend of Frog is sure to introduce Guy to a whole new raft of readers as well as delighting his legions of fans.

Prince Frog is convinced he’s destined to rule the world … the trouble is, the world has ended. Undeterred, Frog sets out to claim his crown, armed with nothing more than a pair of Catastrophe Pants and his trusty stick, Basil Rathbone. But Frog soon realizes that the world isn’t quite as ended as he thought. He discovers a magical kingdom, filled with wild landscapes, strange creatures … and a princess sitting on his throne. Together with his new friend, Sheriff Explosion the sheep, Frog seeks to prove his princeliness and escape the clutches of the princess who’s sure he’d make a better pet than a prince. But just when Frog thinks things can’t get any worse, he discovers he is actually the prince of an invading alien army and that he’s just given the go-ahead for an all-out alien invasion. Can he and the princess put aside their differences long enough to save the kingdom – and the world?

 
Nayuleska's thoughts
I'm not entirely sure what I expected Prince Frog's adventure to be like. From the cover I didn't expect to like Princess Rainbow much, but she fast became my favourite character (spoilt royal brats are funny in a crisis, and not totally dependent on others to save her, as she frequently states). Prince Frog appealed to me because he was so set on his way of seeing the world that others at times found it easier to agree with him then argue. He was brave and fairly fearless, but I wanted to give his rubbery self (if the frog I rescued from my cat's mouth years ago is anything to go by) a big hug because the truth wasn't what I expected and certainly didn't match his expectations. Somehow he got through the disappointment and proved he was as brave as any prince.

The illustrations mostly aren't my style but my favourites included the spectacular castle with plenty of turrets for Princess Rainbow, who unsurprisingly mistreats Prince Frog for part of the story, and the scene on page 166 involving Princess Rainbow (her name doesn't suit her nature!) Prince Frog and a few others in a tricky situation. Like the illustrations not all of the story was entirely my scene but it provided much needed light relief.

Find out more on Guy's website.

Suggested read
For more hilarious adventure check out A Month of Zephram Mondays by Leslie A Susskind (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)

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