a book review: Beware of the Frog

Title: Beware of the Frog!

Author: William Bee
Published: Walker 2008
Synopsis: Mrs Collywobbles has nothing to fear from the strange and fearsome visitors that emerge from the big, dark, scary wood – not with her pet frog guarding the garden gate. Gobble! They don't hang around for long! But when Mrs Collywobbles' frog demands a thank-you kiss, things suddenly take a surprising turn...
From Amazon.co.uk

Pictures: Let's get one thing straight. I chose this book. There's a certain feel to the illustrations that remind me of 'Rosie's Walk' and what I associate with my childhood. In a way some of the humour in the pictures also pay homage to Pat Hutchinson's book, but there are a lot more words in this book. Apart from the colour scheme the pictures and creatures really are William Bee's own. There is a lot of detail in each illustration, so that the non reading child can infer a lot from context and find something new in them each time. 

Text: The words tell the story of Mrs Collywobbles and her pet frog. The Amazon synopsis practically tells it all, but basically each character is introduced and has their own particular rhyme and then they come to a sudden and surprising end. 

Rereadability: So all in all given the little rhymes which could often be heard around the house this holiday  (it wasn't always the bubba) and the intricate illustrations, there is a lot to get out of this book. 

The three year old test: I'm not sure if the nightmares started after this book or before... OK I'm joking, but let's make this clear, for the child who is starting to understand fear and becoming scared of things, this is not the best BEDTIME read. At every other part of the day it's perfect. And to be absolutely sure you get this, the reason I chose this was because the ending made me laugh out loud. There is no writing down to the three year olds and it's rather irreverent fun.