The Wide-Mouthed Frog

Keith Faulkner (19965), 16 pages

Illustrated by Jonathan Lambert

Audience: toddlers, pre-K

Format: picture book

Follow along as a curious wide-mouthed frog asks what others eat while he enjoys his meal of choice -flies. Crunchy seeds, juicy berries, and slugs may suit others … but what do you suppose big green alligators eat? Well, they eat wide-mouthed frogs of course! Gulp, can do you guess what happens next?

This age-old tale is a child’s favorite and this particular edition has been produced as a pop-up book –making it a perfect choice for story-time! Children love both the hilarious narrative and the striking illustrations. What I like most is that this book features dynamic three-dimensional characters (the pop-outs are viewed vertically making the book easy to hold and ideal for sharing in a group … genius). Illustrator Jonathon Lambert has created a feast for the eyes, the colors are vibrant and the images sit against a nice amount of white space – so they are easy to see and work especially well with larger story-time groups. The final fold out makes quite an impression – making this book seem almost more like a performance.

Faulkner and Lambert team up again with a number of other publications including The Giraffe Who Cock-a-doodle-doo’d. Try this title too - you should have lots of fun reading and laughing out loud or pair The Wide-Mouthed Frog with a simple fingerplay and felt board of “Five Speckled Frogs”

Five green and speckled frogs sat on a hollow log,

Eating some most delicious bugs ... yum, yum! (rub belly)

One frog jumped in the pool where it was nice and cool,

Then there were four green and speckled frogs.

Continue with four, three, two, and one green and speckled frogs.

Reviewed by: Katharine Conn, MLIS

If you liked this book, you may like: The Giraffe Who Cock-a-doodle-doo’d by Keith Kaulkner, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Hungry Monsters: A Pop-Up Book of Colors or I’m going to Eat You, A Spooky Pop-up Book by Matt Mitter

Other books by this author: Big Bugs, The long-nosed pig: A pop-up book, Where’s my Quack? A book of animal sounds, The Puzzled Penguin, The Monster Who Loved Books, The Big Yawn, and Tap! Tap! Tap!

Other books by this illustrator: Dotty the Ladybug Plays Hide-and-seek, Snuffle and the Egg, Hoppy the Cricket Jumps High and Low, and Phewee!

Me Hungry!

Jeremy Tankard (2008), 40 pages

Audience: toddlers

Format: Picture book

“Me hungry. Me hunt. Me eat rabbit!” blunt dialog keeps text to a minimum and the bright, bold illustrations with nominal background detail is a great combination toddlers will love. Tankard’s humorous narrative and lovable prehistoric family will entertain parents too. Follow along as cave-boy, Edwin hunts for food and finds friendship in a most unlikely character. The storyline is full of humor and silliness concluding with a great comedic punch line - this book is sure to become a big hit with your kids!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney or Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

Other books by this author: Boo Hoo Bird and Grumpy Bird

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle (1969), 13 pages

Audience: babies, toddlers

Format: Board book

Carle takes readers on a metamorphic journey from egg to butterfly in his timeless tale of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

But, my goodness … this caterpillar isn’t just hungry he’s ravenous! Eating his way through pears, plums, strawberries, oranges, (and literally the pages of the book) he continues to eat a strange diet of salami, swiss cheese, cherry pie, etc, but smartly makes his way through “one nice green leaf” before settling into his cocoon and becoming a beautiful butterfly. This story has been published in many formats, including board books and has become a childhood favorite for many generations. Now a timeless, classic tale loved by young children ... Carle's colorful collages and cutouts continue to delight readers everywhere.

Brimming with educational elements, this book can be used to teach counting, the days of the week, nutrition, and insect life cycles. Activity suggestions range from making paper butterflies to acting out the four stages of metamorphosis (egg, larva, cocoon, and butterfly) or ask children what their favorite foods are and re-read the story using those items. The possibilities are endless!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Other books by this author: The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Busy Spider, Papa Please Get the Moon for Me, and Little Cloud