Too Many Frogs

Rabbit lived by himself in 

the hollow of an old tree.

He cooked for himself.

He tidied up after himself.

And at the end of each and every day, 

he read himself a story.

It was a simple way of life - 

No fuss, no clutter.

And Rabbit liked it.

Or did he?   Sandy Asher and Keith Graves have paired up to create the book Too Many Frogs, a heartwarming tale of two unlikely friends, a loner rabbit and a pesky frog, that celebrates the joy of reading aloud.

This book was given to Emmy on her birthday several years ago and is one of the most read picture books in our home.  Too Many Frogs begs to be read aloud with funny voices for the characters and funny sounds for the actions.  From Froggie's knock-knockety-knocking on the door followed by his croak "It's Froggie!" to his goodbye, "Thanks for your kindness. Toodle-oo!" readers will love the interaction between the two characters.

Emmy laughs and laughs as Froggie brings noise and clutter to Rabbit's quiet and tidy world.  She especially enjoys when Froggie makes the two of them a snack.

Rabbit opened the door, "I was about to read myself a story."  

"I know!" Froggie cried, and hopped right inside.  

"Love to listen!  But first, let's fix ourselves a snack - or three!  

Don't mind, do you?"  "I suppose not," Rabbit said.  

So Froggie hopped - and popped - and whipped - and flipped - and mixed - 

and fixed a snack.  Or three.  Too much fuss! Rabbit thought.  

Graves' illustrations are full of color and seem to pop right off the page.  Whoever heard of a bright blue bunny, Graves did and it's PERFECT.  There are many fun details to find on the page spreads. Emmy's favorites...the ladybug lamp, the umbrella with a crooked handle and the rug that looks like grass.  But most especially, Emmy likes the facial expressions on Rabbit.

We both highly recommend this book!  Such fun to read and talk about.  Emmy often interrupts me when I am reading so I will remind her of Froggie and Rabbit.  She just giggles and offers to go get us a snack or three!  We have been on the lookout for these two follow up books that are sure to entertain us as well.  

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

If you, like me, are ever stuck on what book to read with your child or what book to buy as a gift, then I have found a wonderful resource for you. Julia Eccleshare, a regular contributor to children's book publishing, has compiled a list of the best classic and contemporary children's literature to date. The title of the book is 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and is the latest work in the bestselling 1001 series.

The collection is organized by age group from board books to young adult novels and features informed reviews of each entry by a team of international critics complete with beautifully reproduced artwork from the featured titles. Whether you are a parent seeking to instill a love of reading in your child, an educator looking for inspiration, or a young reader with a voracious appetite, this guide covers the best of the best in children’s literature. You will find beloved classics such as Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are as well as works from around the world such as Jamela's Dress (a modern South African tale) and Anancy Spiderman (Caribbean versions of the spider trickster tales)

Providing the preface for this book is acclaimed children's book writer Quentin Blake who was appointed as Britain's first Children's Laureate.

"Every now and then a golden age of children's books is announced,
but there are glitterings of gold all through their history, and
Julia Eccleshare's book sifts out a thousand and one for us."

Quentin describes Julia's work in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up as a guidebook filled with maps and hints to help us on our journey through the magical world of children's books. I completely agree. As you weave your way through the aisles of books in your local bookstore or library, use this book as your guide.

Two more wonderful resources to help with choosing children's books are:

Jim Trealeses' The Read-Aloud Handbook and Esme Raji Codell's book How to Get Your Child to Love Reading.

Let me conclude this post with a quote from "Becoming a Nation of Readers" a national report by the Commision on Reading:

"The single most important activity for building the knowledge

required for eventual success is reading aloud to children."