Tale of a Tadpole

by Barbara Ann Porte, Annie Cannon (Illustrator)

Francine and her family watch as their pet tadpole Fred gradually changes into what they think is a frog until Grandpa tells them Fred is a toad that should be living in the backyard

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Holly Wheeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really enjoyed the illustrations in this book, it also taught about the life cycle of a frog, it did however lack in captivating the audience in my opinion. I found myself wanting to flip through it til the end. the illustrations though were more captivating to me and i enjoyed that aspect of it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

ATOS 2.9

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this story for Backyard Bookworms, a story time program I developed at the Great Valley Museum of Natural History located at Modesto Junior college. The story time program was frog- and toad-themed (I wanted it to just be toads, but I just couldn't find books I liked). I liked this story because it teaches children about the difference between frogs and toads. During the story, we see a "frog" named Fred go through different stages of growth, but when Francine's grandma and grandpa come for a visit, Francine and her family learn that Fred is actually a toad. I adapted the story as I read it because it's not exactly aimed at pre-schoolers (there are more words per page). I kind of messed up a bit as I was reading. I used a circulating copy of this story, so I couldn't run light pencil marks through the words I didn't want to read.

(For this story time program, I actually showed the kids a real life Western toad. I even held out, which I was a bit squirmy about at first.)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the illustrations

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the how tadpoles becomes toads.