WORKING FROG

In picture book format, a story based on the adventures of a real frog. Winston—a self-possessed, one-pound bullfrog—describes his capture at Witchett's Pond in Westchester County, N. Y., and being taken to the Bronx Zoo, where he is first put in a holding tank in the reptile house and then on public display. Parker's attractive full-color illustrations are full of droll humor as they explore the zoo from the inmates point of view. Her informative, first-person text is brief, but not always easy; younger readers may wonder at measurements from ``nose to vent,'' or ``stool samples checked for parasites.'' Still, a charming first chapter book that should delight younger readers and zoo lovers of all ages. (Fiction. 6-8)