E. D. Baker is the author of the book The Frog Princess, which I'm told inspired the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog.
Princess Emeralda is an only child and a huge disappointment to her mother. She cannot seem to do anything gracefully; even her laughter is inelegant. The book does not force her to suffer with a few snorts now and again. No, Emma's problem is much worse: she sounds like a braying donkey.
Her only consolation is her aunt Grassina, the Green Witch of Greater Greensward. The Green Witch is the nicest and most powerful witch in the entire country, and Grassina wants to train Emma to be the next Green Witch.
Sadly, there's a problem here, too. Emma's magic always - always - goes askew. Her baked crabapple goodies actually grow legs and claws and run around pinching everyone. Her cleaning spells toss her favorite ribbons into a dungheap.
One day while trying to find consolation in the swamp outside the castle, Emma runs into a talking frog named Eadric begging for a kiss to turn him human again. Although Emma is fully convinced that the prince, if he is who he says he is, deserved his punishment, she eventually agrees to turn him back human.
Somehow, even this goes wrong. Emma is turned into a frog, and Eadric is unchanged!
The two try to find some other way to reverse the spell and get them both human again. Sadly, the swamp is full of dangers. And of course, Emma can't just find any normal frog prince. She is actually stuck with a frog prince whom she is convinced must be the most annoying prince ever.
Aside from his knack for irritating her and flirting with her, at least Emma believes he is trustworthy.
...Is he?
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