Bullfrog Pops!

by Rick Walton, Chris McAllister (Illustrator)

Last seen hopping a stage . . . (coach) and finding his hop in Once There was a Bull . . . (frog), our hero is now on an eye-popping eating binge trying to cure his insatiable appetite. Woven through the western town of Ravenous Gulch, the story leaves a cast of many hopping mad. However, just as things look bleak, transitive and intransitive verbs turn the tables and take Bullfrog on another adventure. Part of Rick Walton's tremendously successful Language Arts series.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Born and raised in Utah, Walton is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church. He served as a missionary to Brazil from 1976 to 1978, soon after he graduated from high school. Later, at Brigham Young University, he became president of the Brazil Club. In 1980, he graduated from Brigham Young with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.

Walton's education continued after he obtained his degree. In 1980, he went back to Brigham Young for one semester of graduate work in business, but chose not to follow that career path. Deciding to become a teacher, he earned certification in elementary education from Brigham Young in 1987, as well as certification to teach gifted and talented students. Up to that point, he had held a number of jobs, including a year with the parks and recreation department of Provo, Utah. In 1987, he began teaching sixth grade at a local public school, then switched to a private school.

Also interested in computers, Walton would later publish several items of software. He left teaching to accept a position as software designer for IBM in 1989. In 1994, he turned to freelance software design and writing. He also returned to Brigham Young University once again, this time to earn his master's degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.

Walton's wife, Ann, with whom he has written many of his books, is a computer programmer. They were married in 1983, and have five children. With Dumb Clucks! and Something's Fishy! in 1987, the Waltons began writing books.

Reviews

[Vanessa Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book about a frog who tried to eat everything in sight and everyone kept getting mad at him for taking their stuff. The sheriff realized it would be a good idea to use those eating skills in a contest so that they could win and he finally popped. Then they said that he was going to have to participate again next contest to pay all of the people back. I loved this book because there are a lot of dot dot dot moments where we are supposed to guess what comes next which would make this book an interesting read-aloud. Kids would be able to guess what is about to come next and then we can read and laugh about it together.
Author: Rick Walton
Illustrator: Chris McAllister
Publisher: Gibbs Smith July 15, 1999

[Julia Reny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it very cute but also super fun to read. The good storyline corresponds with wonderful illustrations brilliantly. I believe that this picture book would be great for kids because each page leaves you off on a cliffhanger. This allows the kids to participate in “guessing games” where they predict what could happen next. This completely keeps the students both engaged and interested in the story. Overall, I can definitely see myself incorporating this book into my kindergarten class as a read-aloud!!!

[Tori Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great read for children and appeals to young readers due to the entertaining storyline, interactive elements, the educational value it holds such as problem solving, the visual appeal it has and the positive message it sends to students which is promoting themes of creativity, friendship, and the joy of discovery. This is a great children's book because it combines an entertaining storyline with interactive elements and it is a memorable and enriching reading experience for young readers.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not too impressed with this book because Bullfrog is such a thief and he gets rewarded for his theft and ability to eat a lot.

Talking Points: What do you think should happen to Bullfrog? What would the world be like if everyone today were like Bullfrog?

Essential Oil Pairing Tip - I'm going to pair this book with doTERRA's Thinker essential oil blend because in reading this book we have to think about consequences, think about ethics, think about values.

[Libby Forgues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrator: Chris McAllister
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gibbs Smith; First Edition (July 15, 1999)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0879059036

A fun story with well-done illustrations, when one hungry frog comes to town and starts eating everything. The way the author finishes the page with a partially written statement intended to trick the reader until they turn the page and read the entire line is one of the things that sets this title apart. This would be a great book to integrate into a writing lesson.

[Lindsey Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this book was written in such a unique way. While reading you expect something completely different than the turnout of the next page. It was so funny and the illustrations were so colorful and silly. There are cliffhangers throughout the book and I think this is a great way for students to guess the next outcome for the following pages.

[Chloe Bolduc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how each page left the reader assuming that they knew what would happen just for something else to end up happening. The lesson in this book may not be the best, because the frog was able to do whatever he wanted without any repercussions for his actions, but it is definitely a silly read that I think kids would find very funny.

[Jenna Hanoian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the illustrations went so well with the story line, the morals of the story were a little iffy especially because this book would probably be directed towards younger ones. Overall I thought this would be a great read aloud book especially with how out if the blue it can be, it could help keep kids engaged and allow for discussion points.

[Olivia McCorrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book along with the illustrations, and believe it would make for a great read-aloud. The book's colorful illustrations and playful language would no doubt make it an engaging read for children, while also teaching them a valuable lesson about the importance of moderation and balance.

[Brittney Cayford]

This book uses a play on words and illustrations to tell the story of a Bullfrog "bolting" from one food place to the next. The adventures that take place within the story of the bullfrog finding food, but making peers mad. This book helps teach language arts and vocabulary skills to students while taking them on an adventure through the town of Ravenous Gulch.

[Hailey Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of silly stories and funny illustrations. Imagery is awesome in this book. This bullfrog has an annoying need to eat everything, but guess what he is good for-- and eating contest! I love, and find that kids also love, how each page ends with a mini cliff hangers that you could never guess. Great discussion points for a whole class or small groups.

[Bella Herrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was cute and had fun diction on every page. It also had lots of repetition and fun cliffhangers on every other page, enticing the reader to keep reading. Fun illustrations and a nice read for younger kids.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great example of a play on words and building stories sentence by sentence. This book gives the message of expecting the unexpected. I totally recommend this book and the illustrations are really nice and go very well with the story!

[Sydney Huntington-Strohm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is funny with the adventure the bullfrog goes on to get food. I would use this book for Kindergarteners to show them how funny animals can be through illustrations. The emphasis on the letters is nice and the illustrations match to the book writing nicely.

[Jordan Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute book. The frog was taking everyone’s food and running away with it while people were chasing him. He finally got stopped and the people he stole the food from wanted the bullfrog to pay back. So he got entered into an eating contest.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was funny and cute but I also really liked how the last word on the page was kind of a cliffhanger. You expected it to go one way but then when you turn the page, the storyline changed.

[Katelyn Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a very hungry bullfrog that goes through the town eating everyone's food. The ending word of each page has a different meaning than what is thought. I think that this book would be very fun for kids to read.

[Nicholas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was entertaining. The story felt like a fun idea in someone head but on paper, not so much. I did lie the illustration and how it portrayed the story. Having this book in a classroom would probably be the book a kid reads and doesn't touch the book after they read it.

[Abbie Kane]

I loved Bullfrog pops, the main point was that the Bullfrog eats to much and make everyone in his town mad because he has eaten all the food. one take away I think students could get was to share your food with others and not to take it all.

[Keann Moncrieffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book the whole time I was reading it. I thought it was funny, and I liked how you weren't sure what would happen next. I thought the story moved smoothly, and the audience reading this story would love it.

[Heather Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullfrog Pops!Rick Walton I like the illustrations in this book

[Devynn Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book! I'm not sure how much I liked it but I'm sure children would love it!

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was rather confusing, but it did a nice job incorporating repetition, and the use of ellipsis. Pictures are super cute and use of descriptive words help provide visuals for the readers.

[Ashlyn Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaches children to not be greedy and to push others to do what they can succeed at.

[Lauren Hay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually found this book to be quite funny and I think young children would enjoy it too! Throughout the book it leaves you at a cliffhanger on every page making you want to read more!

[Annie Jewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book for a read aloud, it lets kids play with the meaning if words, while also teaching them foreshadowing and interacting with text.

[Craytonh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny story, but not a fan favorite of mine. There are some interesting cliff hangers on some pages though!

[Kaley Coburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book that allows readers to infer what is going to happen next

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very weird but not a bad weird just an interesting storyline and illustrations all in all this was a great book.

[Alissah Paquette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a funny book, some of the pages had interesting cliffhangers. Each page left you wanting to keep reading.