10. - "The Frog Princess" - By E.D. Baker - Emeralda is a princess. Her mother wants her to marry a man she doesn't love. So, while avoiding her mother by walking by the swamp behind her castle, Emeralda (Emma) comes upon a talking frog who says that he used to be Prince Eadric. He asks for a kiss and she grants his request with unforeseen consequences.
I had heard rumors (i.e. the back of the book) that this story was the one the Disney movie was based on. If so, it only borrowed one plot point from it. That the "princess" turns into a frog.
11. - "How to Train Your Dragon: Book 2: How to be A Pirate" - by Cressida Cowell - Hiccup and the Horrible Haddocks are back, only this time they've discovered the coffin of famous dead pirate. What they find inside this coffin (yes, they open it, looking for treasure), sends them on a wild adventure.
While my son *loved* the first book in the series, he found this one too slow with very little action (for the first half of the book). He complained that all they were doing was talking and not doing anything. Plus, I believe the concept of opening a casket was gruesome to him. I have to admit that this story is not for the queasy stomached as the characters and what they come up against are quite disgusting at times. My daughter and I enjoyed it, though, because Toothless is hilarious and the antics of the Viking clan funny.
VirginiaR. "On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling" --- "clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
