Annotated Bibliography on FROGS

By: Kathleen Kelly

I chose the topic of frogs because it is appropriate for the children in early elementary school. At this age they are fascinated with animals and often highly motivated to explore their immediate environment.

Chapter Books:

1· Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad are Friends. Harper Collins Publishing, 1971.

This is a book about a frog and toad who are friends. There are five adventures of these two best friends that are packed with excitement. One story Toad is unhappy because he has lost his button from his jacket. Who helped him look for it? Frog. Another story Frog was unhappy because he was sick in bed. Who gave him some tea? His best friend Toad. A real cute book children will enjoy!

2· Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Together. Harper Collins Publishing, 1971.

A collection of five stories about how two best friends are always together. Whether they are in Frog’s garden or in Toad’s house, in their woods or in the mountain and even in Toad’s unusual dream.

3· Lobel, Arnold. Days with Frog and Toad. Harper Collins Publishing, 1979.

Frog and Toad spend many days doing things together, but sometimes it’s nice to be alone. One day Frog goes off by himself on a sunny day and that’s when Toad worries he has lost a friend.

4· Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad All Year. Harper Collins Publishing, 1976.

This is a book about Frog and Toad having special experiences each season during the year. They even have a fun experience during Christmas.

Informational Books:

1· Driscoll, Laura; Moffat, Judith. Frogs. Grosset & Dunlap Publishing, 1998.

This story is strictly an introduction about amphibians to young children. It talks about all different types of frogs. It also goes on to explain the differences of frogs and toads. The story also gives frog facts. Such as where you can find frogs, what they eat, how big or small they are. I thought this book would be a good introduction for young children.

2· Gibbons, Gail. Frogs. Library of Congress Cataloging Publishing, 1993.

This story was an introduction to frogs, discussing their tadpole beginnings, noises they make, their hibernation, body parts, and how they are different from toads. Each page contained a color illustration and a good description of the frog. In the end it also gives some interesting frog facts. For example, some people eat frogs as a delicacy, a frog can be as big as a football, and frogs lived 230 million years ago.

Picture Book:

1· Wiesner, David. Tuesday. Clarion Books Publishing, 1991.

Pictures of frogs as they rise on their lily pads, float through the air, and explore the nearby houses while their inhabitants are sound asleep.

Poetry Book:

1· Florian, Douglas. Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs. Harcourt, Inc. Publishing, 2001.

A collection of humorous poems about reptiles and amphibians as the glass frog, the gecko and the rattlesnake. Many interesting yet colorful pictures to go along with each different poem throughout the book.

Books From Different Genres

Realistic Fiction:

1· French, Vivian; Bartlett, Alison. Growing Frogs. Library of Congress Cataloging, 2000.

This was a story about a mother and daughter who watch as tadpoles develop and grow into frogs. They go out to get frog eggs then put them in a tank and watch as they change into tadpoles. Once they began to turn into frogs the mother said it would be a good idea to bring them back to the pond. Then days later she saw many baby grogs jumping around by the pond. A real cute story children would enjoy.

2· Lionni, Leo. A Extraordinary Egg. Borzoi Book Publishing, 1994.

This was a story about three frogs. One frog finds what she thinks is a pebble, she brings it back to the other frogs. She shows them and the one frog says, “That’s a chicken egg not a pebble!” Once the egg hatches they enjoy hanging out with the Chicken. Then when the one frog who found the chicken was asked to go visit his mom the frog does. While there the mom says, “Boy, did I miss my alligator!” The frog finds this funny and tells the other frogs. They thought alligator was such a funny word. Little did they know it was an alligator and not a chicken!

3· Hoban, Russell; Bayton, Martin. Jim Frog. Hoit, Reinhart & Winston Publishing, 1983.

Jim Frog feels a little low in the morning but as the day goes by it gets better. By night he decides it wasn’t such a bad day after all. This was a story that would be easy for children to relate to.

Fantasy:

1· Arnold, Tedd. Green Wilma. Dial Book for Young Readers Publishing, 1993.

Wilma wakes up in the morning with a frog like appearance. While at school Wilma is physically a frog. She causes great disruption as she goes throughout the school looking for flies to eat.

2· Gross, Linda; Jabar, Cynthia. The Frog Who Wanted To Be A Singer. Orchard Books Publishing, 1996.

In the forest in which frog lives, only birds are allowed to sing. Frog has an incredible desire to make music and sing. In the end after a lot of work it pays off and he gets his chance.

3· Joyce, William. Bently and Egg. Library of Congress Cataloging, 1992.

A shy artistic frog is left to care for a ducks egg. This egg changes his life, as it is eggnapped. Then after many things to save it, Bently the frog sees the egg hatch into a young duckling. The duckling is named Ben after Bently because of all he did for the egg.

Concept Books:

1· Brooks, Alan; Kellogg, Steven. Frogs Jump; A counting Book. Scholastic Publishing, 1996.

This book teaches children how to count from one to twelve. The book uses frogs to whales to describe counting. This is a humorous interpretation of animals and their actions.

2· Tryon, Leslie. 1 Gaping Wide-Mouthed Hopping Frog. Atheneum Macmillan Publishing, 1993.

A hopping frog who is a mail carrier. The story takes the reader along through his route through a village with lots of activity in a counting rhyming book.

3· Pallotta, Jerry; Masiello, Ralph. The Frog Alphabet Book. Charlesbridge Publishing, 1990.

This is an alphabet book that goes through all different types of amphibians for each letter of the alphabet. Very descriptive and colorful pictures go with each letter.