Frog and the Stranger

Velthuijs's sensitive, amiable amphibian witnesses prejudice close-up when Pig and Duck take an instant dislike to an itinerant rat. Although Frog finds the newcomer not only unobjectionable but quite interesting, his friends maintain that ``everyone knows'' that rats are ``a thieving lot.'' With wise Hare's approval, Frog continues to visit the rodent; Rat wins the others' approbation after putting out a fire in Pig's house and saving Hare from drowning. Frog and his cohorts are depicted in simple, graceful lines that give full expression to their endearing foibles, from Pig's stubbornness to Frog's childlike curiosity and innocence. However, the book's message is conveyed somewhat heavyhandedly and its tensions are disappointingly resolved (that Rat is accepted only after heroically proving his helpfulness dilutes the lesson about tolerance), with the result that this venture is less engaging than Frog in Winter and Frog in Love. Ages 4-up. (May)