Fredrick the Frog: A Life Cycle Story

by Ida P Leggett, Anne I. Gregory (Illustrator)

Overview

From a squiggly ball of jelly to a cute leaf-hopper, watch Fredrick the Frog grow up in a lush green pond. Along the way, he makes friends and discovers new things he can do as his body changes. An artfully illustrated children's picture book celebrating God’s perfect plan in nature’s life cycle.

F.R.O.G. ... To Fully Rely on God.

What does that mean to you? For Fredrick, as changes come, we watch God’s perfect plan for him unfold. His Mama and Papa do what comes naturally. Then, tiny eggs are laid, his little body is formed, and he matures into a fully grown frog.

Original text by Ida P. Leggett, who loved nature and children … and celebrated God’s beautiful green earth with all of His creatures -- great and small. Even frogs! She Fully Relied on God.

This book is dedicated to her memory.

“Why” THIS BOOK?

While illustrator Anne Gregory was a college art student in the late 1970’s, her Auntie Ida gave her her a time-worn draft of Fredrick the Frog, handwritten with black marker on green construction paper. “Please illustrate this book one day,” she said. “I trust that you’ll know when the time is right.” A fearless composer of poems and stories surrounding her faith in God, Ida passed away many years ago.

Fast-forward 30 years: the sudden passing of Anne’s brother Ernie was her wake up call. Ernie had been a missionary and Fully Relied on God for direction, nourishment and fulfillment. His example of trusting God to lead him to “where he should be” gave Anne the courage to begin her own soul-searching journey. Anne’s career had taken her away from creating art and left little room for appreciating the little things in life. She picked up her paintbrush and plunged back into the art world.

Seeking her “Why” for this new art adventure, Anne turned to a page in her past and remembered Fredrick the Frog ... and discovered the freedom to explore her creative possibilities. Creating these paintings as her first body of work and designing this fun little children’s book became Anne’s “Why” as she began to paint once again. All of the illustrations in this book were painted in oil on canvas. Painting frogs as subject matter seemed a good place to start: there was an abundance of frogs in the pond in front of her dad childhood home. The hand-lettered type was included as a nod to Anne’s love of calligraphy, and reminiscent of her childhood days growing up in the Catskill Mountains in Roxbury New York, where she used to help her dad hand-paint signs.

“F.R.O.G. Fully Relying on God, I’ll trust that He will direct me to what comes next!”

-- Anne Gregory

Commit your work to the Lord - and then your plans will succeed. Psalm 16:3

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692922019
Publisher:	AGregoryArt
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	42
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	2 - 9 Years

About the Author

Ida P. (Gibson) Leggett was born March 5, 1916 in Victoria, BC, Canada, and married J. Edwin Leggett. Together, they raised three children. Ida & Ed were married for 54 years until Ed's passing. Ida was a pioneer in early childhood education from the late 1940¿s, and held a passion for writing, especially for children. An avid hiker and nature lover, Ida was passionate about her her faith, things of nature and in the sea, and she loved to explore. She spent most of her life on the West Coast of Canada and the USA, and the sights and sounds of the coastline often formed a platform for her poetry. She authored over two dozen books. The family moved to Redwood City, California in 1955. Ida developed numerous educational programs with an emphasis on science & the environment, and taught at exclusive private schools on the San Francisco Peninsula. In the early 1970¿s, she and Ed moved to Santa Cruz, California where they designed, built, and directed their own Preschool & Daycare Educational Center, which was licensed for 60 children. Upon the sale of the school and into retirement, Ida & Ed traveled extensively to the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Sweden and Israel, as well as throughout the United States & Canada. They moved to Union, Washington in 1980. Ida passed away Oct. 12, 2005. At her request, her ashes were cast to the wind over her beloved Western Washington.

Anne Shultis-Gregory was born & raised in the heart of the Catskill Mountains in Roxbury, New York, where there were more cows than people. Country living influenced her love of nature and a knack for creating something from nothing. Anne cherishes the rusty, the overlooked and the small things in life. A rich career in marketing communications & investor relations provided ample creative outlets, but Anne longed to sit behind the easel. She picked up her paintbrush in late 2013 following the unexpected death of her brother, Ernie. A missionary, he had followed his passion and Fully Relied On God. As Anne mulled over life priorities at Ernie's funeral, she was prompted to follow her own passions: for art and for people. If Not Now, When? Anne has an impressionistic, painterly style that is injected with a vibrant color palette. Her intention goes beyond creating pleasing pictures: preserving the glowing feel of God's hand in the fleeting moments of day-to-day experiences. She hopes that her work will bring joy to others. And she directs all praises to God, from whom all blessings come. Anne lives in the greater Houston, Texas area with her husband, Michael. Together, they have raised two awesome sons, Taylor and Blake.

Table of Contents

Children's Picture Book Story with 18 Fine Art Oil Painting Illustrations:

1- Spring is in the Air

2- Mama & Papa Hopped Into the Pond

3- Mama Lays Her Eggs

4- One Tiny Egg Begins to Move

5- Fredrick is a Nerve in a Jelly Ball

6- Fredrick Can Swim!

7- Fredrick is All Alone

8- The Hungry Pollywog

9- Fredrick has Two Legs

10- Fredrick can Climb on Stuff!

11- Fredrick Chased a Little Duck

12- Fredrick & Friends Upon a Log

13- Fredrick Jumps from Leaf to Leaf to Leaf

14- Kerplunk! Fredrick Fell

15- Fredrick has Learned to Sing

16- Fredrick Caught a Tasty Bug

17- Meet Fredrick: A Bright Green Frog

18- Cover: Fredrick the Frog

Supplemental: "Fun Frog Facts" at the back of the book is a Supplemental Back Matter for Teachers, Home-Schoolers and Moms has interesting notes about frogs for further parent/child and classroom discussion. Includes bibiography.