Hopper is a happy frog who loves to play. But Hopper also has a problem—he doesn’t quite fit in with everyone else. In fact, Hopper seems so different that an old turtle, sounding suspiciously like another wise elder who lived near a swampy pond, tells him, “Hmm . . . young pond-hopper . . . perhaps you are not a frog.”
Now, as everyone knows, a frog that is not a frog can only be one thing: a prince! And that’s how it happens that Hopper embarks on a quest to find a princess who can, with just one kiss, turn him into a prince once again.
Like all heroes on a quest, Hopper encounters enormous challenges. First of all, it’s just not that easy to find a likely princess—especially in the forest. Hopper meets a woodpecker and a skunk, but when he runs into a dangerous fox, he begins to think the whole quest might be a very bad idea.
Then, miraculously, Hopper’s life is saved in the nick of time by a ball—a ball chased by a dog who loves to give wet, slurpy kisses. A dog whose name just happens to be Princess.
Jackie Urbanovic, author of the New York Times best-selling Max the Duck series, has created a fanciful, funny tale that reminds us that although we may not turn out to be princes or princesses, in the eyes of a true friend we will always be royalty.
Deborah Hopkinson’s next book, Courage & Defiance, will be released this fall.
