Frog Finds A Place product reviews

With an unusual title, not your typical artwork on the cover and an interesting blurb I was unsure what this book could offer both myself and my children. Because of this I decided that it was best to read it to myself before sharing with the kids.

This was a very strange book to read and I felt that it definitely was not written for the target audience of 4-7 year olds. The beginning of the book was very confusing when it talked about Frog having a dream. I don't think it made it clear enough to the young age group what was happening. In the middle the storyline got better and the readability was great. At the end however I felt it became difficult to read - I think it was the way they used the word 'he' at the beginning of each sentence.

The illustrations were lovely, however I found the italic print not clear if wanting children to be able to read. Although I found this book difficult to read, I liked the messages that it held - to aim for the stars, dreams can come true, what is the right way for one might not be for others. It also introduces kids to the lifecycle of a frog.

Personally this is a book that I will not be sharing much with my children as feel there are better books out there that have same messages which tell these messages in a clearer way.

There is one thing that really stands out for me about Frog Finds A Place and that is the art work. It is seldom that I see a children's book with such lovely paintings in it. I could imagine the originals from several of the pages hanging in frames on the nursery walls of royalty. It is sophisticated yet still appeals to the children.

There are a few valuable learning tools in this story too. Firstly that a tadpole grows up to be a frog (something that some of the 4 year olds I shared it with didn't know). There are also lots of cliches like: Dreams can come true; What you are looking for is right there in front of you; And what works for one person (or in this case animal) won't necessarily work for everyone. There are frog's lovely friends that are trying to help him reach his goal of being with the moon and stars.

It is a sweet story that the children enjoyed listening to. I found much of it predictable, but then as an adult I am not the target audience. The 4 year olds I work with along with my 5 year old daughter enjoyed it more than my 7 year old. If your young child loves frogs then this book would appeal to them.