The Frog Princess: A Tlingit Legend From Alaska

 

Kimmel, Eric A., and Rosanne Litzinger. The frog princess: a Tlingit legend from Alaska. New York: Holiday House, 2006.  ISBN 0-8234-1618-6

 

This is the story of a young maiden who finds her love in a frog.  She despises her suitors that her father brings to her and blatantly tells a suitor that she would rather marry a frog from the lake.  A “man” appears with bulging eyes and long fingers and walks her to the bottom of the lake to the Frog People.  Her father, frantic with worry, asks for her back.  She comes back unhappy and asks that she go back to her husband and children in the frog world.  She ends up happy with the frogs. 

Kimmel notes that this tale is based on “The Girl Who Was Taken by the Frog People” in a collection of myths by John E. Smelcer.  This story is based on a folk tale set in Alaska with the Tlingit (KLINK-it) tribe.  This tale reveals that love can be found in the strangest of places.  The daughter shows strength of mind by choosing her own husband rather than someone her father chooses for her.  Looking into the histories of the Tlingit people, her destiny is inevitable. 

The Tlingit nation is broken into two clans, the Ravens and the Eagles.  Litzinger tries to represent this through her artwork and illustrations.  She notes that the Tlingit people are representative of the Raven clan and are dressed in red, a color of significance. The frogs are representative of the Eagle clan. Ravens marry Eagles and Eagles marry Ravens.  She claims that she used yellow for the princess to show her unusualness. 

This tale can be compared to the Grimm tale The Frog Prince.  Kimmel’s words and Litzinger’s art work together to create a fascinating story about a clan in Alaska.  This is a tale of following your heart to find love. 

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Bright swaths of watercolors illuminate the landscapes and backgrounds.”

BOOKLIST: “The story (which may be too long for sharing at one sitting) is gracefully told, and preschoolers will enjoy the shape-shifting magic and cultural details, which are extended in the uncluttered paintings of villagers in Tlingit costume. Still, it's older children (and teens) who will relate most to the parental intolerance for boundary crossing: "It is unnatural for a human girl to live among frogs. They must marry their own kind and so must you." Suggest this for discussions with a wide age group.”

One connection that can be made through this tale is the daughter following her heart in love.  This reminds us that what we want may not necessarily be what others think is right for us.  The daughter may feel a loss of control due to her father’s overbearing personality on wanting her to marry a human even though she is more attracted to the Frog People. 

Other books on the Tlingit tribes include:

Smelcer, John E. A Cycle of Myths: Indian Myths from Southeast Alaska. Anchorage: Salmon Run Press, 1993.

Swanton, John R. Tlingit Myths and Texts. Bureau of American Ethnology, 1909.

Beck, Mary. Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books, 1991.

Beck, Mary. Heroes and Heroines in Tlingit-Haida Legend. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books, 1989.

All notes about the Tlingit tribes were taken from the author’s notes and the artist’s notes at the end of the book.