Brave Red, Smart Frog

Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales. Emily Jenkins. Illustrated by Daniel Eason. 2017. Candlewick. 104 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: There was once a frozen forest, cold as cold ever was.

Premise/plot: Brave Red, Smart Frog is a collection of fairy tales retold by Emily Jenkins. This collection features seven stories: "Snow White," "The Frog Prince," "Three Wishes," "Toads and Pearls," "Red Riding Hood," "The Three Great Noodles," and "Hansel and Gretel."

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I loved the writing, first of all. I found it beautifully written. Here are some of the phrases and sentences that caught my attention.

His new wife had walked out of the winter forest one day and charmed him with beauty like an icicycle--sharp and slippery. She called herself January, and when she moved into the castle, she brought along nothing but an enchanted mirror. This new queen felt invisible without a reflection of herself nearby. (4)

There are so many ways to measure beauty, and so many ways to enchant a mirror. (6)

He stopped his horse and watched her breathing. Her eyelids fluttered. Prince Beacon liked Snow White's face for its courage and kindness, and he was also a curious fellow who liked most pretty girls and all new adventures. And so, he woke her up. Now, some kisses break enchantments. And other kisses begin them. Beacon's kiss was the second kind, not the first.(16)

I loved the selection of stories. I loved the variety of familiar and unfamiliar stories. I think my favorites were actually the new-to-me stories of "Toads and Pearls" and "Three Wishes."

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews