![]() Hilarious scenes of frogs playing accordions, spinning on unicycles, dressing up in period costumes, speeding like Mr. Early images show leggy amphibians tiptoeing across the page before exuberantly hopping frogs jam-pack the spread. Beginning with the froggies’ surreptitious exit from bed on the front endpapers, the realistically executed, fantastically conceived illustrations track the froggies’ nocturnal activities from the sublime to the ridiculous in a series of increasingly dramatic double-page spreads. ![]() But they absolutely do not want to sleep…maybe. And they want to perform underwater ballet and “tame ferocious beasties”! Really? Pushing the envelope totally, the froggies want to sing opera while being shot from a cannon, fly spaceships, and engage in burping contests with ETs. They also want to practice the accordion, ride unicycles, and play dress up! Hmmm? They want to go on long country drives and “joust like knights.” OK. This unusual bedtime book alerts readers with the bold opening message that “the froggies do NOT want to sleep.” Indeed! Instead, the froggies want to hop. (So saturated are they that the mother's plumage looks darker than it does in real life.) Two double-page spreads of further information for children and adults extend the story’s usefulness with a child-friendly Q-and-A illustrated with photos and literacy and STEM activities.įlying with this bird should leave young human chicks feeling encouraged to spread their own wings.Įschewing sleep, the froggies engage in bizarre nighttime capers. Equally appealing are the bright, delightful watercolor illustrations of the very expressive bird. Young readers/listeners will easily empathize as they contemplate daunting firsts of their own and take heart as they discover that pluck and practice win out. This is a charming tale, with the bird narrating fears and self-doubts, then exhilaration, in simple, lilting verse that aptly floats along breezily. Encountering a toothy cat below leaves the bird no choice but to keep pumping its wings in an escape effort-then, holy fluttering, robin!-up it soars like the expert avia(n)tor it was meant to be. Just when the feathered protagonist decides to give flight a pass, its mom deems the moment right for a gentle shove, causing it to tumble clumsily from its safe haven and make awkward attempts to rise. Though it’s every bird’s destiny to spread their wings and leave the nest eventually, it’s a scary proposition. With not a little apprehension, a young robin considers the possibilities and perils of its inaugural flight. 3-7)Ī fledgling makes its first foray into the sky. A great one to pair with Bernard Most’s work, dinosaur fans will revel in the possibilities. The final pages name the dinosaurs featured in the text, with the caveat that paleontologists learn more each day and the longest, softest, etc. to find all the dinos gathered there-“Look! My dino pets all came home! No one likes to sleep alone.” The rhyming text and Kendall’s wonderfully creative illustrations will keep young readers riveted, while even the most avid dinosaur fans will likely learn something new, as very few of these are commonly known. Problems abound with each new dino pet, from the softest to the smallest, down to the scariest, until finally, there are no more dinosaurs to choose from. The fastest one runs away, and he keeps stepping on the longest one’s tail. He chooses the biggest dinosaur, but when it won’t fit through his door, back to the store he goes. A very lucky little boy just happens to have a Dino Pets store in his town. ![]() Dinosaur lovers’ imaginations soar with this inventive flight of fancy from Plourde.
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