Froggy returns for another minor adventure in his well-documented life with this 23rd outing.
This time, Froggy wants to get a dog. His mother reluctantly agrees to the idea of a pet, though she thinks a dog would be too messy. After breakfast, Froggy, his mother and baby sister Pollywogilina set off together for the animal shelter, where they examine different kinds of pets. His mother suggests a bunny, white mice or even a baby alligator. But Froggy craves a canine companion, and he falls in love with a gray dog with “sweet chocolate brown eyes” that even his mother finds irresistible. They take the dog home, and as Froggy learns how to care for Doggy, he discovers that supervising a bouncy dog is not as easy as he first thought. The text is not particularly funny, offering a couple of stale setups with a pooper-scooper, as well as an episode in which Doggy drags out Mom’s pink underpants in front of Froggy’s friend Frogilina. Cheery illustrations in watercolor and pencil do their best to add to the humor with amusing expressions on the characters’ faces and jaunty poses that capture Froggy’s confident personality. Die-hard Froggy fans may enjoy his latest small adventure, but this doesn’t offer anything new in the crowded let’s-get-a-dog pack. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-670-01428-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As the sleepy keeper bids him good night, Gorilla snitches his keys; then he creeps after him, letting the other animals out. In a lengthening parade that includes a mouse first seen taking one of Gorilla's bananas, they pad along behind the keeper like faithful dogs, enter his house, and curl up to snooze in his bedroom; Gorilla snuggles into bed next to the keeper's wife. The man is too drowsy to notice, but she does; taking Gorilla by the hand, she leads the whole parade back to the zoo with an air of resignation that suggests this has happened before. Gorilla certainly knows the ropes; he and the mouse (still toting the banana) follow her back, this time to settle in the middle of the bed. The amiable cartoon characters, vibrant palette, and affectionate tone of the author's art recall Thacher Hurd's cheerful illustrations. Delightful. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: April 13, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-22445-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise.
A hoppy, snappy Easter version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
Three young tots, with varied skin tones and baskets ready in their hands, eagerly scamper on a spring day to find some eggs. But of course, they meet hindrances along the way. “Ooh, look … // Chickens! / Flapping, pecking chickens.” Thus starts the rolling refrain: “Can’t go over them. / Can’t go under them. / Can’t go around them. // Got to go through them!” The waddling chickens don’t pose much of an obstacle, but they do “Cluck-cluck!” loudly as they scatter in the sun. The three youngsters then must face “fluffy, hungry bunnies” (adorable long-eared puffballs with carrot fronds in their mouths) and “happy, hopping frogs” as they balance on stones to cross a pond. All of this leads to a garden bursting with colorful flowers (“Rustle-swish! / Rustle-swish!”) and finally…10 eggs in pastel patterns. Each egg has a number on it to encourage readers to count along and strengthen their numeracy skills. Rozelaar’s plump and rounded world, with roly-poly trees, flowers, and hills, wraps the tale in coziness.
The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798887771304
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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