Prince Cedric has a crown, a castle, and a hundred servants who know his name. He does not know a single one of theirs. Cedric of Aldenmere is twelve years old, and the world has never once told him no. He has never carried water from a well, washed a shirt, or waited for anything in his life. Then he humiliates an old farmer in front of the entire court over a basket of apples — and his father does something no king of Aldenmere has ever done to a son. He takes the signet ring off Cedric's finger and sends him away. No title. No guards. No one who knows his face. Just a plain wool cloak, a long road down the hill, and the village of Millbrook, where a hundred and twelve people work from dark to dark and nobody has patience for a boy who cannot lift a shovel. They give him a new name on his first morning. They call him Toad. What follows is the slow, unglamorous work of becoming someone. A shed to sleep in, earned by splitting firewood. A blind weaver who can hear the change in his footsteps before he can feel it himself. A stubborn old donkey nobody else wants. A flood that takes everything the village has, in one night, in the dark. And a fire in a meadow where a ten-year-old girl says four words Cedric will carry longer than any title he was born with. Then a messenger rides hard from the north, and Cedric has to decide what he is going home as. The Toad Prince is a story about humility, gratitude, and the difference between what people call you and who you actually are — told without a lecture in sight. WHAT'S INSIDE Ten story chapters plus a full Reflection Questions section — more than twenty discussion and writing prompts, ready for the classroom, the homeschool table, or the end of bedtime A completely clean read — no frightening content, no bad language, no romance. Safe to hand to a seven-year-old, still worth the time of a twelve-year-old Lessons carried by characters, not by speeches — Cedric learns patience from a donkey, persistence from a hawk, respect from a goat, and dignity from a row of turtles on a rock Built for confident young readers — short chapters, plain language, and a story parents will happily read aloud Written by a board-certified family physician who spends his working life listening to children and the families raising them Three bonus ebooks included inside the book, as a thank-you for reading PERFECT FOR READERS OF A Little Princess · The Prince and the Pauper · Wonder · Because of Winn-Dixie · The One and Only Ivan · Holes If your reader loved the kindness at the heart of Wonder but you want something gentler and a few years younger, this is that book. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING "Flowed so nicely to learn all the lessons the prince should know. My 7 yr old was hooked." — Nitalove33, five stars "What an awesome book to read. I think this is a great book for anyone. I would highly recommend it." — Barb Mullen, five stars ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Rabea Hadi is a board-certified family physician, medical scholar, and academic trainer, and the author of more than 160 books for children and families — including the Choose Your Quest interactive gamebooks, the 444+ Fun Facts for Kids series, and the Clean Reads Collection. His stories come out of a career built on listening: patients telling him what actually shaped them. Find the rest of the collection at ChooseYourQuest.net. Your gifts are waiting inside. Three bonus ebooks are included at the front and back of this book — a Choose Your Quest interactive gamebook with over fifty choices, a 444+ Fun Facts collection, and a cozy mystery for the grown-up in the house. Scroll up and start reading. Millbrook is waiting.
