"If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a prince!” says the frog. But Ella thinks that a talking frog is much more interesting than living like a princess in a castle. And during his stay with Ella and her family, Prince Frog discovers a world of fun beyond the castle gates.

Heather McLeod is the co-owner of Makaria Farm and the cofounder of the successful community grain-growing project, Island Grains. She is a passionate believer in re-skilling and founder of the Renaissance Women, a group dedicated to personal empowerment through relearning basic skills. Heather has been published in Small Farm Canada, The New Quarterly, The Dalhousie Review and Room (of One's Own), and she writes a regular farming column for The Winnipeg Review.

Heather McLeod's profile page

BROOKE KERRIGAN est une artiste, graphiste et illustratrice de livres pour enfants. Elle est diplômée du Sheridan College en illustration interprétative et a illustré plus de dix livres pour enfants, dont Fishermen Through and Through, Plan for Pops et The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain, qui lui a valu un prix Blue Spruce. On peut aussi voir son travail dans les pages du magazine Chirp. Brooke partage son temps entre l’Ontario et une petite ville des Alpes françaises

 

 

BROOKE KERRIGAN grew up surrounded by books and the love of art. Now she has illustrated more than a dozen books including Fishermen Through & Through, A Plan for Pops and the Blue Spruce Award Honour Books The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain and Kiss Me! I’m a Prince.

 

Her fun and whimsical illustrations are created in watercolour, gouache, pencil crayon and collage. Born and raised in Toronto, she now splits her time between Tiny, Ontario and a little town in the French Alps called Chamonix. Visit her at www.brookekerriganillustration.com.

Brooke Kerrigan's profile page

• Nominated, Blue Spruce Award
• Nominated, Amelia Bloomer List

"A charming tale of friendship and the importance of child's play."

The Calgary Herald

Kiss Me! (I’m a Prince)

A talking frog, a fun-loving, action-oriented young girl and an age-old storyline make Kiss Me! (I’m A Prince) by Heather McLeod an undisputed “best book” for children from age three to adult. With brilliant writing and humour, McLeod indicates that the promise of becoming a princess holds no appeal for our heroine, Ella. Dressed by illustrator Brooke Kerrigan in baggy purple sweatpants and T-shirt and wearing a reversed red baseball cap, Ella would much rather be playing basketball than dress-up.

Despite every promise of an enchanted lifestyle, the poor frog prince cannot make Ella kiss him. Quite simply, Ella would rather enjoy hopscotch or swimming and, in a delightful twist in the tale, the frog (prince) joins her. There is mutual disappointment (Ella likes having a “talking frog”) when he is returned, perched on a cushion, to his family’s castle. Ella is not sure she will ever see her frog again. Once home, kissing anyone and everyone, he learns true friendship must prevail — so he returns to Ella and remonstrates that only as a boy can he and Ella share riches that bring more satisfaction than princely finery.

Kerrigan’s watercolour endpapers are part of the storyline. They set the locale beautifully, beginning with “Once upon a time…” and ending with a slightly altered scene in which…“they played happily ever after.”

Kiss Me! (I’m a Prince!)

In this unconventional fairy tale Ella finds a frog who wants to be kissed so he can be turned back into a prince. But when the frog tells her what it’s like to be a prince or princess, Ella thinks it sounds rather boring and shows him how to have fun. But only a true friend can turn him back into a boy. Will Ella kiss the frog or not?