Kissing Frogs and Other Short Stories

My life hasn't changed much since I was four years old, when I donned a pith helmet and wielded a huge paintbrush to paint murals inside my family's garage doors. Later, still brandishing the paintbrush of a fine arts education at Scripps College in California, and the École des Beaux-Arts in Geneva, Switzerland, but now helmeted for world adventures, I began to travel and write stories for U.S. and British publications. I married and produced two patient children, divorced and remarried, then divorced again just for good measure. Over the years, I learned about life from a cat named Dorothy, bit off more than I could chew in France, traveled Fiji with a friend named Slosh, rang church bells in England, joined a poltergeist committee to investigate strange happenings in a Chinatown flophouse, cried when I left the island of Grenada, and really kissed a frog. BOOK REVIEW Reviewed by Gordon D. Durich for Readers' Favorite Theodosia Greene kissed a "frawg" in the Caribbean. The author of Kissing Frogs and Other Short Stories drew inspiration for her book from this memory and other international experiences. Her collection of memories from England, France, Fiji, and other countries is interspersed with highly original graphic illustrations. Her drawings are inspired by formal education enhanced with world travels. Her experiences with foreign languages and customs generated true stories coupled with art. Kissing Frogs and Other Short Stories is a memoir in which travel and art, specifically beautiful and evocative paintings, flavor Theodosia Greene's work. This cannot be categorized as "chick lit," but the title and contents could be easily construed as that. Kissing frogs, or "frawgs," as Theodosia Green called them, may be something girls dream of - to have their prince magically appear as in fairy tales - and may be farfetched. This beautifully laid-out book features a picture of that very experience, which visually makes it easier to grasp and more realistic. As a man, I enjoy reading stories from a female point of view, and as an artist, I appreciated the use of original works of art. The illustrations are blissful and I acknowledge the work that went into them. They are for adults but are not suitable for young children since the drawings are too mature and suggestive. The culture clash this artist/writer experienced in Fiji was especially fun, exotic, and relatable.