New Release: Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel Frederick

Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel Frederick was released yesterday. This has been a high anticipation read for me--although it has to wait until I can order a copy for after my move--since Diamonds and Toads retellings are so rare. It sounds like fun. Frederick's Mother-Daughter Book Club has been successful and I am always pleased by her book choices from Anne of Green Gables to Little Women, she is promoting classics that deserve to be so and showing how modern readers can read and enjoy them. Now that talent has been moved to a fairy tale.

Book description:

A girl gets into a mouthful of trouble in this modern fractured fairy tale, from the author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club.

Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a far away land—her dad’s house, halfway across the country—and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can’t take it anymore, Great-Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to worse.

The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What’s more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that? Before you can say "happily ever after," the girls are on the run from jewel thieves and a government agency. Can Cat save the day—and get rid of all those toads?

This is an enchanting fractured fairy tale from acclaimed Mother-Daughter Book Club author Heather Vogel Frederick.