The frog with the big mouth

K-Gr 2-The locale here, the South American rain forest, refreshes the familiar story of a loud, hyperactive frog who boasts to other denizens about eating a huge fly, then queries them on their preferred diet. The setting balances the frog's comedy with information about toucans, coatis, capybaras, and jaguars, the last of whom observes our lucky hero's jumping talents. Endnotes with a paragraph on each animal reinforce the book's educational component. Terry's shiny, verdant rain forest capably offsets myriad greens with shadows of lavender, an electric-blue beetle, and wine-red berries. The spreads swirl with movement and beckon forward via fluid lines. The Frog with the Big Mouth brims with personality as he suspends from a tiny vine or leaps from a tree branch. This is an inventive version of a long-favored tale.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A young Argentine wide-mouthed frog can't help but brag when he eats the biggest fly in the whole world. When his brothers and sisters disregard his accomplishment, the frog travels the rainforest, boasting of his fly-catching skills to the toco toucan, coati and capybara, asking what they like to eat and hopping away with a final "Don't you wish you were me?" Finally, he meets a jaguar who is interested--in eating him, that is. After narrowly escaping, the newly (self-)styled "frog with the big jump" sets off once again, bragging to and warning his rainforest companions. The frog's cumulative refrain and the animals' rhyming responses build tension and humor in this retelling of a traditional tale. Thick foliage in vibrant greens creates a lush setting, while exaggerated and energetic depictions of some of the rainforest's lesser-known animals add to the merriment. The author offers more information about these colorful characters (e.g., the popular nickname of this story's hero is the Pacman frog) in a concluding note. A big hit for storytime. (Picture book/folktale. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.