by Ervin Lazar (Author) Jacqueline Molnar (Illustrator)
A hilarious Hungarian classic children's story about true love, friendship and what happens when a witch turns your fiancée into a duck.
Princess Arnica is so sweet and gentle that when she smiles even wolves and bears forget their fierceness. Everyone loves her, but she loves only Poor Johnny. Luckily, he loves her too, and even more luckily she has a very sensible king for a father, who is happy for her to marry whomever her heart desires. So, no problems then?
Well, maybe just one - The Witch with a Hundred Faces has cast a spell on Arnica and Johnny which means that one of them, at any one time, must always be a duck, and the other human! Who can help them? Only the Seven-headed Fairy.
Will they be able to find her? You'll just have to read the book and find out!
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"Write me a story!" So begins this madcap yarn of clever Princess Arnica and Poor Johnny, who are cursed by the Witch of a Hundred Faces: one must be a duck while the other is human. Structured as a tale being told to a child, the story swoops and veers through Arnica and Johnny's quest to find the Seven-Headed Fairy, the only one who can break the spell, with interpolations from the listening child and the storytelling parent: "He did the right thing to refuse the treasure, didn't he?" "It certainly looks that way." Fresh, funny characters (touchy Victor Coppermine; Tig-Tag, the misguided thief; wise King Tirunt, whose Chief Royal Counter counts until the monarch's anger passes) offer much delight, as does the satisfying ending. Molnár's vibrant folkloric illustrations complement the tale's whimsical sincerity. Ages 7-10. (Aug.)
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.