FROGGY WENT A-COURTIN'
Gillian Tyler, . . Candlewick, $15.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7636-2306-7
Cozy watercolor-and-ink compositions—a pleasing blend of delicate and cheerful—add some zing to this interpretation of the popular folk ballad about the courtship and marriage of a frog and mouse. Froggy's romantic persistence and Miss Mouse's enthusiasm (even as she demurs on matters of decorum) are the stuff of classics, made freshly entertaining here for a new generation. A dashing frog decked out in a cutaway coat and knee-high boots plus a cast of dapper insects and rodent relatives all dressed to the nines for the big wedding give young readers plenty of chipper details to explore (such as a butterfly sporting a bonnet, and a top-hatted grasshopper). In what sometimes feels like a tribute to Beatrix Potter and other nature-loving artists, Tyler (
Reviewed on: 01/17/2005
Genre: Children's