Frogs Sing Songs - Softcover

The creators of Birds Build Nests return to the field, this time melding verse of varying quality with painstakingly realistic watercolors of approximately 15 species of frogs. The rhyming narrative addresses-somewhat redundantly-how, when, where and why "frogs sing songs." Information embedded in the poems (e.g., that frogs sing "from a pouch in their throats" or that "frogs sing their songs/ When day is no more,/ Hidden by leaves/ On the dark forest floor") receives extensive amplification in a concluding, two-page frog identification guide. Frog aficionados will excuse awkward phrasing ("Frogs sing their songs,/ But polluted dark streams/ Threaten their future/ And our wilderness dreams./ That's why frogs sing songs") for the sake of these endnotes and for Oliver's striking art, which brings the multi-patterned amphibians and their various environments into sharp focus. His detailed work reflects a deep aesthetic appreciation of the natural world. Ages 4-9.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreS-Gr. 3. This lyrical companion to Winer's Birds Build Nests (2001) makes a strong environmental statement about saving frogs, from Africa to the Arctic. On each double-page spread, one of Winer's short, simple poems appears under a spot illustration of a frog. Opposite is a full-page, vivid, realistic watercolor illustration of that particular species in its natural habitat. Each of the poems begins with the refrain, "Frogs sing their songs," then the following four lines reveal beautiful details about that frog and the sounds it makes. The book closes with a two-page frog identification guide for each of the 15 species shown in the book, complete with physical descriptions of specific sounds, from an oxlike bellow to a baby rattle. Words and pictures celebrate the varied coloring and sounds and the amazing adaptability of frogs around the world; and children will celebrate the creatures, too. Kathy Broderick
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