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The Frog that Lost Its Croak Reviewed By Conny Withay of Bookpleasures.com
- By Conny Withay
- Published February 2, 2016
- Childrens & Young Adults
Conny Withay
Reviewer Conny Withay:Operating her own business in office management since 1991, Conny is an avid reader and volunteers with the elderly playing her designed The Write Word Game. A cum laude graduate with a degree in art living in the Pacific Northwest, she is married with two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.
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Author: Anne Toole
Illustrator: Unstated
Publisher:
Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1-4787-6413-7
“The little frog was
very sad.
He had lost his croak and no friends he had,
Because
bragging about his wonderful croak had made the other frogs
mad.”
Anne Toole writes in her children’s book, The Frog
that Lost Its Croak.
This unnumbered
twenty-six-page paperback targets children ages three to seven years
old or those learning to read. With no scary scenes, it is a story
about a frog that has lost its voice and learns how not to be
boastful. With black writing against white boxed-backgrounds on one
side of the pages, the opposite sides usually contain crisp, colorful
illustrations that follow the storyline.
In this short tale told in
rhyme, a loud, noisy frog can no longer croak. His father suggests he
talk to his mom, who tells him to take some time, rest his voice, and
his croak will come back. He becomes sad when he recognizes he has no
friends because he was always bragging about the noises he could
make. It is when he listens to the new sounds around him that he
realizes he was focusing on himself, and his voice comes back.
This
is a light-hearted reminder that teaches children not to tout their
horn about what they can do but stop and listen to others around
them, noticing their qualities and characteristics. I like how the
story flows and engages young readers through the eyes of a frog that
is taught an important lesson.
Although charming, some of the
rhymes are a stretch if read out loud, but they work overall. There
are quite a few punctuation errors throughout the pages that should
be corrected.
After teaching first grade for thirty years,
Toole retired, only to work as an ESOL teacher for three years.
Having written other children’s books, she travels extensively and
lives in South Carolina. No information is offered regarding
illustrator.
With the Amazon site being so vague and
uninformative, it would be nice to explain the story in detail and
give the author and illustrator’s biographies. Having cadence in
rhyming would make the book easier to read.
If you are looking
for a story that teaches not to be boastful and think about others,
this rhyming tale of a frog learning a wise lesson would be enjoyed.
Thanks to Bookpleasures and Outskirts Press for offering this book to review for my honest opinion.