A deliciously inventive re-telling of a traditional fairy tale, this picture book will help young children understand how gender differences are important. The story begins in time-honoured fashion with ‘Once upon a time’, where we meet Prince Oskar and Princess Caroline, a brother and sister who get along very well, but are quite different in some ways. She’s a bit of a tom boy, likes to climb trees and is very independent, while Oskar loves painting and flowers and finding bugs, likes to read fairytales and hopes to find a life-long love. One day they discover a small green frog. Oskar is ‘enchanted’ when the frog begins to talk, and Caroline is excited too. How can this have happened? The frog, who is called Alex, explains that he was a prince, and an evil wizard had turned him into a frog. The children are appalled at this, and Oskar immediately wants to help. Alex can only be transformed back by being kissed by his true love, so Caroline gives it a try. It doesn’t work, though, because, as she understands, true love can’t be forced, ‘…you can’t make people fall in love.’ However, Oskar believes that the more the three of them become friends, the more likely it is that Caroline will fall for Alex. And so the friendship develops over time, but in the end they all realise that it is Oskar and Alex who share all their interests, and that love has developed between them. The traditional kiss brings Alex back to his former self, and they are all happy just as they are. A good, purposeful story with simple and effective illustrations. Available from Amazon, from bookshops, and from the publisher: www.jkp.com.