THE MYSTERIOUS TADPOLE
by Steven Kellogg illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Kellogg tosses off one fantasy within another, as Alphonse, the tadpole Louis' Scottish uncle sends him for his birthday, develops into something more like a dinosaur than a frog and the authorities refuse to allow Louis to keep his pet in the junior high school swimming pool. But Miss Seevers the librarian, who discovers that Alphonse comes from Loch Ness, knows where a pirate treasure ship was sunk in a 1639 battle, and with her help Alphonse and Louis retrieve a chest full of coins—enough to turn a neighboring parking lot into a pool for Alphonse and all the local kids. A stock situation, right up to the enormous egg that arrives for Louis' next birthday—but Kellogg's zesty embellishments propel it along.