A Froggy Fable
Kindergarten-Grade 2–A frog is totally content with his life until his privacy is invaded. Otters arrive and splash in his pond; noisy blue jays disturb the quiet with their squawking; a pine tree falls into the once-pristine water, scattering needles all about. Then things get worse, for he finds himself trapped in a jar and being carried off by a boy on a bike. As fate would have it, the jar falls, dislodging the frog and leaving him with no choice but to find his way home. Of course, when he finally sees the once-troublesome otters splashing and hears the once-bothersome jays squawking, he realizes that he is where he belongs, and somehow the changes now seem to enrich rather than threaten his life. This tiny fable is clearly and simply told. There is minimal dialogue, and the text uses relatively short sentences, most often in a declarative style. The cartoon-style watercolor-and-ink illustrations are well drawn with minimal detail. The browns, greens, and blues in the first part of the book give way to a bold infusion of yellow to indicate the protagonist's sunnier view of his world. Although the obvious message and the very basic character development in Lechner's tale cannot rival that of Arnold Lobel's more sophisticated "Frog and Toad" series (HarperCollins), this is a pleasant read-aloud that could spark discussions with young listeners learning to cope with change in their lives.–Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.