Dragon's Breath

November 21, 2005
In this companion to The Frog Princess
, Emma can't seem to control her magic—first she accidentally transports herself to the dungeon, then she discovers that whenever she sneezes, she turns into a frog. Ages 8-up.

November 1, 2005
Gr 5-7 -Enter the world of Princess Emma and the kingdom of Greater Greensward. In E.D. Baker's sequel (Bloomsbury, 2003) to "The Frog Princess" (Bloomsbury, 2003; Recorded Books, 2005; "SLJ" Aug. 2005, p. 64), Emma is a witch-in-training who dreams of being as accomplished as her Aunt Grassina -the Green Witch who protects the kingdom. But first she must stop sneezing and turning herself and her beau, Prince Eadric, into frogs. Emma finds herself in one predicament after another as she seeks to gain control of her magic. Grassina is no help. She's distracted by her attempts to turn her true love back into human form and can't be bothered with mundane tasks such as protecting the kingdom from invasion. To hurry Grassina along, Emma and Eadric must find a few ingredients for her spell: a gossamer hair, a magic bean, a feather from a horse, and the breath of a green dragon. The quest takes them under the ocean and above the earth and ends with a surprising twist. Along the way, Emma matures in her magical ability and takes on Grassina's role in a vivid finale that is both exciting and touching. Actress Katherine Kellgren is astonishing in her ability to voice dozens of characters and make each unique. The pace is slow at the beginning but soon reaches a satisfying tempo. A sure bet for young fantasy fans. -"Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

In the world of DRAGON'S BREATH, magic is both powerful and fickle. Spells can keep friends safe or, with an unlucky sneeze, turn them into frogs. Princess Emma, witch in training, must learn to control her use of magic. An accomplished, comfortable reader, Katherine Kellgren does a particularly good job of breathing life into Princess Emma, and is also quite fine as Emma's Aunt Grassina, a powerful, but sometimes distracted, witch. In fact, Kellgren easily moves among the many personas she's called on to inhabit, allowing readers to settle in for a long listen in E.D. Baker's magical world. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine