The Door in the Hedge: The realm of enchantment lies beyond - The Princess and the Frog

The Door in the Hedge: The realm of enchantment lies beyond
by Robin McKinley
Published by ACE Books
1981
Image retreived - http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/sf/books/m/covers/door.jpg

Plot Summary

This book is comprised of four short stories; The Stolen Princess, The Princess and the Frog, the Hunting of the Hind and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
The Princess and the Frog is an adaptation from the original fairytale. The story has similar themes, but is written with a very dark tone.
The princess lives in a castle with her father - the king - and her brother - the Crown Prince. The princess has reached the age for marriage, and an arrangement has been made for her to marry a prince from the neighboring community. Upon his arrival, Prince Aliyander gives the Princess a string of beautiful pearls. These pearls have an enchanting, yet dark and magical quality about them, they elicit fear in the princess.
With the new string of peals, she goes for a walk in the woods and stops at a near-by pond. While inspecting and pondering these pearls, she accidently drops them in the pond. A talking frog appears and offers to retrieve them for her, but he will only get them under one condition; she must bring him to live with her in the castle.
The story follows the princess and the frog as she prepares to marry. During the ceremony, the to-be-husband takes exception to the frog and forcefully throws him against a wall. The frog suddently turns into a handsome young man, and an epic battle ensues.

Comments

Fit for a young adult audience, this story offers the familiarity of the classic fairy-tale with an evil and dark twist. Although the story ends in a happy ending, the audience is encouraged learn from the lesson offered in the book --- listen to your inner-most intuition.

Age Range - 10-13

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