School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-9-Sunday, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter in the Woodcutter family, has six older sisters also named after days of the week. They all have characteristics from the rhyme "Monday's child.." Sunday's fairy godmother gave her a name-day gift-the ability to write stories that all come true. She visits the woods to write in her journal and meets a frog who listens to her tales. They fall in love and one day, after Sunday kisses her frog goodnight and leaves, he turns from Grumble into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland and a man her family hates due to his involvement in the disappearance of Jack, Sunday's oldest brother. The process of the prince getting back to the castle and getting Sunday to fall in love with him as a man takes many chapters and includes fairy tale mash-ups, such as The Frog Prince, Cinderella, The Goose Girl, and Jack and the Beanstalk. Katherine Kellgren's amazing narration draws listeners into Kontis's tale (Harcourt, 2012). Her characterizations and voices are compelling, especially that of Grumble. Kellgren varies her pacing and succeeds at raising the suspense level to maintain listener interest. If there is any flaw to the story, it's that listeners may be distracted while trying to decipher which fairytale is being added to the mix with each new bit of action.-Ann Brownson, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Sunday Woodcutter is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Sunday loves to write but has to be careful, as her writings have a tendency to come true. When she meets a talking frog at a nearby pond, her not very interesting life is turned topsy-turvy. Of course she kisses him after she begins to fall for him, but fails to see the transformation that takes place after they part. When the missing prince comes home and announces a ball, Sunday and her sisters must attend. Kontis has taken various legends, rhymes, and old stories, mixed them up nicely, kept in just enough of the sinister, and thrown in a touch of humor. Casual print readers may miss the dry wit, but with narrator Kellgren at the helm of this audiobook, the humor is expertly conveyed. Kellgren uses quite a few voices to portray the wide array of characters that populate the story; especially delightful are Mrs. Woodcutters stern screech and Grumble the frogs rattly voice. Good, clean fun. angela j. reynolds (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In the land of Arilland, Sunday the seventh daughter of a seventh son is supposed to be blithe and bonny and gay and no more than a silly afterthought in the shadow of her older brother and six remarkable sisters. However, it's clear she's meant for more when she meets a talking frog. True, a talking frog is not unusual in her neck of the woods, but this one is insightful and kind, and he listens to the stories she writes, tales that have a strange knack for coming true. Slowly, the two fall in love and share a kiss, and that's where the real once-upon-a-time begins. Arilland is a delightful blend of original world building and traditional fairy tales. And Sunday herself is a greatest-hits mash-up of different princesses and fairy-tale heroines, including, of course, Cinderella. But it's the relaxed humor of Kontis' presentation that not only ups the realism of characters unfazed by talking frogs and fey characters but also gives this offering its sweet, distinctive stamp.--Jones, Courtney Copyright 2010 Booklist