FREDDY THE FROGCASTER AND THE HUGE HURRICANE

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FREDDY THE FROGCASTER AND THE HUGE HURRICANE

Name: FREDDY THE FROGCASTER AND THE HUGE HURRICANE
Author: Janice Dean
ISBN: 978-1-62157-260-2

From the Freddy the Frogcaster series , Vol. 3

by Janice Dean ; illustrated by Russ Cox ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2015

Common-sense attitude and advice, sunnily conveyed.

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Budding weatherfrog Freddy makes his television debut as a hurricane roars over Lilypad.

Garish red and yellow images appearing on the radar screens at the Frog News Network signal that it’s time for Lilypad’s residents to board up windows, get the lawn furniture inside, and head for the safety of the town Frogatorium. Except, that is, for Freddy, who joins his weathercasting colleagues, Sally Croaker and Polly Woggins, to track Tropical Storm Andrea as it strengthens to a hurricane and heads for landfall. Though the radar image looks ominous and Polly submits an outdoor report clinging to a signpost as the wind blows her off her webbed feet, Cox’s cartoon images of a popeyed, froggy cast in human dress calmly preparing for the storm underplay the danger in favor of a focus on being ready and staying informed. Freddy’s first on-screen Frog News Alert goes over without a hitch, and when the hurricane passes (leaving but minor damage, aside from an overturned car), he predicts “toad-ally awesome” weather for a trip to the beach. Dean caps the episode with simply written comments about how hurricanes form and are categorized, historical tidbits, the difference between a “watch” and a “warning,” and more detail on preparing for a storm.

Common-sense attitude and advice, sunnily conveyed. (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: July 13, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-62157-260-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Regnery Kids

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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FREDDY THE FROGCASTER AND THE TERRIBLE TORNADO
by Janice Dean ; illustrated by Russ Cox

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Freddy the Frogcaster and the Big Blizzard
by Janice Dean illustrated by Russ Cox

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FREDDY THE FROGCASTER
by Janice Dean ; illustrated by Russ Cox

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THE WATER PRINCESS

by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...

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An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.

Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU LISTENING?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO I AM
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

- BOOK REVIEW
CAN YOU SEE IT?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

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ADA TWIST AND THE PERILOUS PANTS

From the Questioneers series , Vol. 2

by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.

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Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.

Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.

Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)