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FOO, THE FLYING FROG OF WASHTUB POND

Name: FOO, THE FLYING FROG OF WASHTUB POND
Author: Belle Yang
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3615-9

by Belle Yang & illustrated by Belle Yang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2009

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Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy share a special web-footed friendship. They were born on exactly the same spot on the banks of Washtub Pond, at exactly the same time and exactly the same size. But all too soon, everything begins to change. Foo Frog grows bigger. Along with his tummy, his head grows too. Just like Aesop’s age-old arrogant frog, Foo boasts proudly, “I must be the biggest animal in the whole wide world!” He puffs himself up to prove it. But is he? The rumbling Kuong! Kuong! Kuong! of the elephant’s footsteps tell otherwise. Bold swirls of wind and buoyant brush strokes effortlessly lift Foo into the air, sending him soaring over the pond. Yang’s bright, folk-art–style gouache illustrations and animated sound effects enliven this fable. Young readers will delight in spotting other tiny, whimsical characters along the journey—especially Washtub Pond’s keenly observant snail. Luckily for Foo, this story ends in sweet lessons of friendship and humility, not a fatal burst. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7636-3615-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGEL IN BEIJING
by Belle Yang ; illustrated by Belle Yang

- BOOK REVIEW
HURRY HOME, HEDGEHOG!
by Belle Yang ; illustrated by Belle Yang

- BOOK REVIEW
A NEST IN SPRINGTIME
by Belle Yang & illustrated by Belle Yang

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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JOE LOUIS, MY CHAMPION

by William Miller & illustrated by Rodney Pate ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2004

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One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)