Tale of a tadpole - Softcover

Barbara Ann Porte; Annie Cannon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590519077 ISBN 13: 9780590519076

Publisher: Scholastic, 1999

Synopsis

The natural world doesn't work the way fairy tales do, but it still has its fair share of enchantments. With text and pictures that are both scientifically accurate and totally true to the comedies of family life, this is a happily-ever-after tale of unexpected transformations. Full color.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. Young Francine and her family form a fictional framework for the real metamorphosis of Fred the tadpole into Fred the toad. Interspersed with data on the care, feeding, and development of tadpoles are Francine's older sister's recollections of frog-kissing episodes in fairy tales. As her parents advise patience, the child watches Fred, who she thinks is a frog, slowly evolve, until her grandparents come to visit, and her grandmother explains that her pet is a toad. Rather relieved at the prospect of a cessation in bug-catching but pleased at a possible long-term relationship, Francine conscientiously releases Fred in her suburban backyard. Porte's gently informative text is enriched and matched by Cannon's sunny, soft-edged watercolors, in which Fred's transformation is carefully recorded. All in all, a most pleasant companion to classroom nature studies and sure to inspire those youngsters for whom spring pond investigations are a rite of passage.?Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A little girl and her family watch and wait while a small tadpole named Fred grows into an adult toad. The brief picture book text from Porte (Harry's Pony, p. 956, etc.) is complemented by charming watercolors of the tadpole in his tank, the little girl, her sister, parents, and grandparents. Cannon (The Bat in the Boot, 1995, etc.) offers unusual perspectives: a view of the little girl and family as seen through the tank, another from the bottom of the tank, looking up. The soft, liquid palette in pale green, gold, and gray is a soothing accompaniment to a gentle family story, but there is no fact page to answer the questions children are likely to have--where did the tadpole come from? How long did it take to grow up? What kind of fish food did it eat? Pair this one with a book that's strongly factual for an amiable nature lesson. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590519077
• ISBN 13: 9780590519076
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32