Friend Frog
By Alma Flor Ada
Review by: Yvonne
Gaudet
Field Mouse is looking for a friend, when he finds a pebble, but pebbles can’t share secrets. He goes on searching until he finds some tall grass blowing in the breeze, but when he tries to tell the grass his secret, the grass keeps blowing in the wind. Finally Field Mouse hears a noise and climbs a cattail to see where the sound is coming from. Field Mouse sees a beautiful frog sitting on a rock by the edge of the pond, with big eyes and a beautiful voice. Field Mouse asks the frog if she will be his friend. "Sure," she says, "Come croak with
me. "Field Mouse tells her he can’t croak but he can tell secrets, but Frog was croaking so loud she did not hear him. Field Mouse spent the rest of the day listening to Frog croak and returned home at night time. He hoped that Frog would be his friend, and thought about her beautiful voice. The following day Field Mouse finds Frog at the pond again. "Come jump with me!" she says to Field Mouse, but Field Mouse is not much of a jumper. He spends the rest of the day watching Frog jump and thinks about how great it would be to jump as high as her. The following day Frog says "Come swim with me," but Field Mouse can’t swim, and feels that maybe being friends with Frog may not be such a great idea after all, so he returns home. The following day Field Mouse goes back to the pond and watches Frog sing again. Field Mouse is hiding in the grass where Frog can’t see him. Oh how Field mouse wishes he could sing, jump, and swim. Right then a shadow hovered over Field Mouse but he knew what that meant, "Jump, Frog, jump!" he yells to the frog, and the frog didn’t hesitate to follow directions. Field Mouse had just saved Frogs life! When the shadow leaves Frog comes to talk to Field Mouse and they become friends. That night Field Mouse and Frog sit together and listen to old stories and secrets of the meadow and the pond, after all that is how Field Mouse knew the shadow was dangerous!
I recommend this book for ages 2-8. It is a cute tale which inadvertently teaches children that even though people may seem a lot different then we are, they can still be a really great friend to have!
Buy
Now
