Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. Arnosky adds to his excellent All About series, which includes All about Owls (1999) and All about Turtles (2000). Here, he brings to the subject of frogs his considerable skills as a naturalist, artist, and writer. Beginning with a discussion of amphibians, the book goes on to talk specifically about frogs: their distinctive characteristics, habits, habitats, range, life cycle, diet, and the threats to their existence. The attractive acrylic paintings, well designed to illustrate particular points, zoom in for details and show various kinds of frogs engaged in typical behaviors and seen from many points of view. Arnosky takes care to point out when an illustration shows the actual size of a particular species. Always informative, yet casual in tone, the text will engage young readers without talking down to them. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Arnosky takes full advantage of the greens in his palette for this exemplary introduction. Clear, simple text is complemented by careful, informative acrylic illustrations on every page. From the beginning definition of an amphibian to the more esoteric fact that frogs use their eyeballs to push their prey down their throats, the careful precision of word choice makes this book both understandable to and respectful of the serious intent of young researchers. The paintings introduce many types of frogs as they elucidate the points made in the text. Captions indicate which illustrations are life-size, and black silhouettes clarify anatomical features. Arnosky ends with a plea for protecting the animals' environment. Among the many introductory books about frogs, this is one of the best.-Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Arnosky's All About series consistently offers a comprehensive and comprehensible overview of a genus or order of animals, stressing the differences between and similarities among various species. All about Frogs upholds these standards, ably informing youngsters with a definition of amphibians, the differences between frogs and toads, identifying markings on various species of frogs, anatomical features of frogs, eating habits, and how frog spawn changes into frogs. The book's well-organized expository prose lends itself to reading aloud, with each double-page spread covering a specific topic. Although detailed captions may be lost on groups of children, the explanatory diagrammatic illustrations offer much to contemplate while listening. Always the naturalist, Arnosky personalizes this account with well-chosen observations: "I once saw a great big bullfrog catch and eat two adult goldfinches. The frog swallowed the second bird almost immediately after the first!" He concludes with a discussion of predators, cautioning young readers that environmental dangers are the greatest threat to a frog's well-being.From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Usually a naturalist among naturalists, Arnosky (One Whole Day: Wolves, not reviewed, etc.) stumbles with this somewhat careless primer. Though in his green-tinged pictures he depicts a range of North American and tropical frogs, often life-sized, as well as their prey, predators, and stages of development, otherwise-anatomically-exact amphibians sport nether regions that look airbrushed, and every creature is labeled until the "predators" page-on which the turtle is represented only by a hard-to-recognize head. Furthermore, to state that "All amphibians are cold-blooded. They warm up in the sun and cool off in the shade" isn't particularly enlightening, and there are neither pronunciation guides for the scientific terms, nor any leads to sources of further information. Budding biologists will take a longer leap with Judy Hawes's new edition of Why Frogs Are Wet (2000). (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
