Little Frog and the Scary Autumn Thing

by Jane Yolen, Ellen Shi (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s Little Frog’s first autumn, and she doesn’t like it one bit. It is not the green world she loves so much, but something scarier and ominous, filled with red and gold and yellow. And noise! WHIRRRRR. CHIRRRR. BAROOOOOOM. But encouraged by her Mama, who reminds her that "Most things that are scary are just new," Little Frog bravely sets out into this world. When her courage waivers, she starts to run and soon is lost, miserably lost. She finds her way to Papa Frog and he shows her what Mama Frog means.

In a warm and satisfying ending:

At last, arm in arm,
Little Frog and Papa Frog happily hopped and danced
all the way home to The Pond
where Mama Frog had made
a fresh shoo-fly pie for dinner,
something all three of them knew well.

This charmer of a story is by multi-award winning author Jane Yolen, author of OWL MOON and the HOW DO DINOSAURS books. The wonderful autumn palette and adorable pictures are by newcomer Ellen Shi, who is not afraid of trying something new herself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943978014
Publisher:	WunderMill Publishing Group, Inc.
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Series:	Little Frog Series , #1
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jane Yolen has authored more than 365 books including the Caldecott-winning Owl Moon, and the New York Times bestselling series How Do Dinosaurs...? Jane's books have been translated into over 20 languages and are popular around the world.

Ellen Shi grew up in the great state of New Jersey and recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in Illustration. She loves color, simple shapes, and texture. Ellen is also an avid fan of nature, film, and books. When not drawing or painting, you will probably find her with her nose in a book.

Editorial Reviews

2016-07-20
A young frog gets some parental help for her anxiety when green leaves turn red, gold, and purple.Little Frog shudders at the color changes in her comfortable green world, but taking heart from Mama Frog’s “Most things that are scary are only just new,” she ventures out of the pond and into the woods. Falling leaves cause her courage to fail temporarily—but then the familiar voices of the wind, of a squirrel, and most particularly of Papa Frog, who invites her to slide down a leafy pile with him, lead her to conclude that “Red and gold and orange are not scary at all.” Back home the two hop, arm in arm, for a dinner of Mama Frog’s hot shoo-fly pie. In the illustrations, rich colors underscore the intensity of Little Frog’s feelings, as the sunlit greens of reeds and lily pads give way to showers of leaves that, in the shadowed woods, glow with autumn reds and golds. Just to make it easier for two-legged younglings to relate, Shi outfits Little Frog with a long red scarf and, in keeping with the assigned roles, gives Mama Frog blue eyes and a bead necklace. A low-key way of introducing the idea of change, in nature or otherwise. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews

"Yolen doesn’t rush Little Frog’s emotional turnaround. Shi’s inviting mixed-media landscapes make it clear that the amphibian is never in danger."— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"A low-key way of introducing the idea of change, in nature or otherwise.” — KIRKUS REVIEWS

From the Publisher