A Frog in the Bog

We love Karma Wilson. Hilda Must Be Dancing and The Cow Loves Cookies are special favorites in our house. But Wilson works with different illustrators and I don't like this one at all. The images are not really like what you see on the cover. They get blobbier and fuzzier and less identifiable as the book goes on. Since this book has a lot of counting and specific animals/insects described in the text, it would be much better if the pictures were a clear representation of those things. I would not have bought the book if I'd seen the inside first, but I counted on Wilson's track record. Oh well.

I love Kharma's books and bought this one online. I was very satisfied with the story. I can read it over and over without getting sick of it. The only problem is that the illustrations are totally monochromatic and a little too abstract for little ones so they get easily bored looking at the pictures. Too bad. It's a great story for counting!

This is a delightful book that my children adore! I have a hard time getting my children to read any book that doesn't feature trains, trucks/cars, or construction equipment, but no arm twisting with this one. They love the rhythm, rhyme, and funny pictures. This should be a book in every preschooler's library!

...and believe me, you will. Some books have you groaning, "Not this one" when your kids bring them up to you; this is not one of those books. It's a really fun story that you and your kids will enjoy. I have two boys, 4 and 2, and they LOVE this book and I really like reading it to them. It should be in every little library.

One of the few picture books I've ever returned. I didn't realize when I was looking at 'A Frog in the Bog' that it's basically a 'little old lady who swallowed a fly' story except with a frog. One, maybe two, of those is cute but this would have been the fourth and that really is too many. Besides that, it's not a cute story that you want to read again and again. The drawings are nothing like her bear stories.

There's a frog on the log in the middle of the bog.

A small, green frog
on a half-sunk log
in the middle of the bog.

And so the frog proceeds to gobble up various creatures that increase in number. From a tick to five slimy snails. Yet that half-sunk log isn't what it seems, and when it suddenly rises, showing eyes, and JAWS, the frog loses his lunch as they escape while he hollers.

It's a fun romp with a hungry and rather greedy frog, and the increasing number of his lunch means that it's a book useful for counting too. The illustrations are dreamy watercolour depictions of bog life. These aren't my favourite style of illustrations, and they lack detail for the younger readers. I do prefer Wilson's collaborations with Chapman.

I find the rhythm a little laboured but it's captivating enough, and one that a parent can read a few times over. Not Karma Wilson's best in my opinion, but it is fun. I actually bought the book because my daughter likes frogs, but the lack of detail meant that the frogginess of the frog wasn't so obvious. Towards the end it barely resembles a frog. Also, the internal belly pictures are too abstract a concept for the younger ones.

My favourite element are the tiny details that are not a direct part of the story. Such as the flyrodrome or the beetle boats for hire.

My daughter (20 months), who 'reads' above her age, enjoys it although only occassionally picks it up herself. I do make a big deal of the every-growing frog. I think that perhaps an older child might get more out of it. Children that already love messing about in mud with slimy critters would likely love it.

I do recommend it, but for 3 years and older.

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In the same style as The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly here is a frog that eats too much almost to his destruction and that of the bugs near him. Everyone learns a lesson in this book with great watercolor pictures. My 8 year old son really enjoyed this one. Recommended for ages 3-7 years.

This is a fun book about a frog eating WAY too much (insects, snails, etc) and what happens when he discovers what the log he is sitting on REALLY is. It is always hard to find books boys enjoy and this one hits the target. Even girls like the rhyming in it. Artwork is wonderful. We have looked for other Karma Wilson books after this one.

What more can you ask for from a book? This is a great Karma Wilson book - some of hers nowhere near met up to my expectations after Bear Snores On (one of our family favorites) but this one is fabulous. The kids love the sing-song rhymes, and hilariously shought out "ooo, ugh!" and "Oh, My!" after each of the bugs. It has a great surprise at the end, too!

So funny, cute and clever. My daughter and I read this several times until she had it memorized. We really enjoy this author and gave this book as a gift.