In Calvert’s follow-up to her Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin (2006), Peter must work again to thwart the mathematically evil antics of the little man and his witch friend, Matilda. This time, the duo is armed with both a dividing stick and a magic Frog Crystal. When used together, a group of living things is divided, with a fractional part of them suddenly becoming frogs. As in her first outing, the author tries to educate readers as to the difference between dividing by a whole number and dividing by a fraction. While helpful reinforcement for children who already understand the concept, this will not serve as a reliable teaching tool for those who do not, although the division notes at the back are well written. The crosses between different animals and human and frogs in Geehan’s humorous acrylics will certainly tickle readers’ funny bones, but ultimately they do little to meet educational aims. At the end of the day, this weak story does not stand without its predecessor, and its limited audience makes this as sensible a purchase as the quotient of one over zero. (Picture book. 8-10)
