The Frog Prince (or Iron Henry)

This picture book version of the well-known classic has startlingly atmospheric illustrations. As the story unfolds the reader's attention is caught by the theatrically arresting pictures, and each spread demands focus on detail. It opens, 'Once, in olden times, when wishes still had power, there lived a king.' The text is cleverly superimposed upon the illustrations. On one particularly dramatic page, the text is in an inverted triangle, seemingly a shaft of sunlight into the 'great dark forest' illustration. Iron Henry, of the alternative title, appears in the final pages, with three iron bands around his heart. 'Sire, 'tis a ring that bound My heart when it was aching. But now my lord is freed and back, Joy has made the iron crack.' This is a book to ponder over, to savour richness in words as well as drama in illustration.