Arnica, the Duck Princess

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!


I loved this , the illustrations that went alongside this tale were so unique and beautiful and fit perfectly with the story. I had never read this tale or heard of it before being a Hungarian tale, but I really enjoyed it. Who doesn’t love wondrous fairytales and a couple needs to reunite to be true loves again. Recommend this for all children, of any age be it small or big children. Lovely.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I finished reading <i>Arnica the Duck Princess</i> by Ervin Lázár, an old Hungarian children's story, just a few hours after I picked it up and within moments of it decided that I was utterly and hopelessly in love with this so adorable I could die story. I don't really know what I expected when I requested this book, but I can say without question that the story that was delivered into my hands is a precious and beautiful thing that I will forever be exceedingly happy to have read. And while I may not have been immensely in love with the artwork when I first began reading, it fortunately did grow on me as I progressed through the small children's chapter book. It's not my favorite kind of art, but it was still enjoyable to see as I read and much better than a book that didn't have any illustrations within.

<i>Arnica the Duck Princess</i> tells the story of a Kingdom in which a young Princess lives with her father who has decreed that his daughter shall only marry the one that she loves. A witch lives within the forest at the edge of the kingdom and must trick someone into becoming her slave in order to keep her magical powers so when Poor Johnny comes trotting through the forest she immediately sets her sight on him. Of course, Johnny has no intention of falling for her tricks and is soon rushing out of the forest. In no time at all, the angered witch has caused him to fall and injure himself, resulting in the princess finding and nursing him back to health. Though they soon fall in love and intend to marry, the nasty witch from the forest eventually curses them so that while one is a person, the other must be a duck. Meanwhile, as you read the tale there are various asides of two people discussing the story itself--from what I recall, it was a mother and her child.

A big reason behind why I requested this book lies in the fact that it very much left me thinking of <i>The Swan Princess</i>, a story that I have loved deeply since I was a child. This story is definitely unique in its own right, with wonderful twists and turns throughout and I couldn't be more pleased with the tale I spent my evening reading yesterday. The story is an incredibly clever and inventive fairytale that I enjoyed deeply and will most certainly be getting myself a physical copy of at some point in the future. If you enjoy fairytales and are looking for something wonderful and whimsical to read, I would definitely suggest giving this book a chance.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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A cute fairytale with beautiful illustrations! I had never heard of this story before but I really enjoyed it and so did my 5 year old! One I can see kids falling in love with and reading again and again.

This is a charming folktale with beautiful illustrations.
An adult is telling a bedtime story to a child, and their conversations interrupt Arnica and Poor Johnny’s story throughout the book, as explanations and commentary are given.
As with all folktales, lessons are learned, and these are reinforced in the storyteller and story-hearer’s dialogue.
***as an aside, I do wish there had been a different font, or even italics or bold print, to distinguish between the story being told and the conversations around the story. perhaps this will be different in the final published work?***
I found the story charming and I LOVE the accompanying illustrations.

I really enjoyed this Hungarian folk tale. It has lovely illustrations to accompany the text and it was a lovely story to enjoy with my family.
The characters are well written and although she was a "baddie", I really liked the witch character and her perseverance throughout the story..

This would make an excellent addition to any class studying folktales from around the world.

I will be buying this one!

My thanks to NetGalley and Steerforth Press/Pushkin Press for a digital review copy of this book.

This is an English translation of a Hungarian classic children’s tale, first published in 1981 and now being printed by Pushkin Press. The translator is Anna Bentley and the book has been illustrated by Jacueline Molnár.

King Tirunt lives in a palace by a round lake, a palace with thirty-six towers and three hundred windows. He is a just ruler, punishing only those who deserve it, and taking precautions (very great ones) against giving orders when he is in a temper, that is to say, he ensures they aren’t followed and locks himself in his throne room while he is in a temper. With him lives his daughter Arnica, a very special princess, “so sweet and gentle that when she smile[s], wolves and bears forget their fierceness”. King Tirunt wishes that Arnica would marry the person she loves and does not mind who he is or where he is from. Into their lives comes just such a person, Poor Johnny. Poor Johnny has nothing except the clothes on his back and is “footloose and fancy-free”—not only that, he wants nothing either which means that the Witch of a Hundred Faces fails to entrap him (she must enslave a new person every seven years to retain her magical powers), despite the untold wealth and riches she offers. Making his escape (she does pursue him with magic, when he simply walks away) Johnny meets Arnica and they fall in love. But the King wants to be sure before he gives his consent, and makes them wait six months. When this period is up and they are awaiting Johnny’s arrival, the witch acts, casting a spell, as a result of which it turns out that at any given time, either Arnica or Johnny must be a duck. Now they much find a way out, and they don’t mind whether both are ducks or humans but they want to be the same thing at the same time. So off they set to seek the Seven-headed Fairy, the only one who can free them of the curse. Along the way, they meet various people, each with their own oddities, and problems, and change their lives as they move on.

The story is told in third person, and off and on, there is also some dialogue between the narrator and the person he is telling the story to. This gives it the feel of a traditional storytelling style.

I found this to be a really pleasant and cute read. This is a fairly short (just 96 pages) book and a great deal of fun. Being a children’s classic, there are hidden messages of course, but it isn’t preachy or forced down your throat. All of the people they encounter, in fact, find that the solution to their problems lies within themselves, just a change of attitude or approach is called for. And that is what the book tries to tell its readers. Also, the story/stories are told in an amusing way, some episodes more than others, like the Witch’s frustration when Johnny fails to be lured by treasure or the story of Tig-Tag the robber, which was very good fun. I also liked that despite the various little troubles Arnica and Johnny fall into on their adventure, there is no melodrama or exaggeration. Arnica and Johnny are very likeable; Johnny, in fact, reminded me a little of a Grimm’s character in the story ‘Hans in Luck’ where too, the ‘hero’ attaches little to material possessions.

The book has some really colourful illustrations. These reminded me (the style) somewhat of the illustrations for Dunno (by Boris Kalushin) though the ones in this book aren’t as delicate. I loved the colours, also the patterns used, the animals, flowers, trees, etc. but while I didn’t much care for the human beings (illustrations) in the book at the start (they felt a little clumpy), even these kind of grew on me as I read on. (See cover above)

A charming and cute read.

A ridiculously charming Hungarian tale. It’s got a touch of Gaiman and Goldman to it and delivers a fairytale with a nifty wink and a nod. Deserves to be read aloud.

"Arnica, the Duck Princess" by the author Ervin Lázár is an old fairy tale full of adventures; Is narrated in third person, however, there is also a dialogue between the narrator and the character that tells the story.

The story by the author Ervin Lázár, is complemented with beautiful illustrations and it addresses topics such as friendship, anger control, forgiveness and love. It is a fun and adorable story, which although it is aim for children, is a recommended reading for all types of readers, young and adults.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a digital version of the book "Arnica, the Duck Princess".

This book was incredibly cute and sweet and I really enjoyed it. Kind of like The Princess Bride with the adult telling the story to a child, with the interruptions by the child to the adult on occasion.

The story itself was cute, the artwork different, but pleasant and the ending was a good one in my book. I would recommend this at my store, definitely.

4, cute and nice pick-me-up read, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press, Pushkin Children's Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.