If You Hopped Like a Frog by David M. Schwartz

by David M. Schwartz

Introduces the concept of ratio by comparing what humans would be able to do if they had bodies like different animals.

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Science, Animals, Nonfiction, Childrens, Humor

Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

As a child, I was filled with a sense of awe as I contemplated the universe. The huge numbers of stars and their sizes and distances never failed to amaze me. With binoculars and magnifying glass, I also focused on closer subjects like birds, flowers, frogs and bugs.

But science and math weren't my only fascinations: I also loved bicycles, baseball, boats…and ice cream. Years later, on a clear spring night, I looked up at the sky and a shower of memories descended. I suddenly remembered my childhood awe at the wonders of space.

That night I was inspired to write my first book, How Much Is a Million? Now, almost 50 books later, I spend much of my time finding unusual, whimsical ways to make math and science come alive for kids and teachers, both through my writing, and through speaking at schools and conferences. I also write science articles for magazines, especially Smithsonian, and to do the research I've made exciting trips to some of the more remote corners of several continents. I've been to Africa to study hippos, to South America to visit an indigenous tribe living in the rain forest, and to far northern Scotland to track illegal egg collectors. But I still love the land outside my door in northern California, and the same distant stars that inspired me years ago.

from http://www.davidschwartz.com/about_da...

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a fascinating look at the wonders of science and the amazing feats of strength, agility, endurance and speed that can be found throughout nature. Even our own ability to grow when we are a fetus is depicted as the marvel it truly is.

The narrative is informative, but entertaining and the illustrations are hilarious. I especially appreciated the mathematical explanations at the end of the book that describe how the author came up with the proportional comparison.

We've read several books by David M. Schwartz and we love his ability to make mathematical concepts understandable and fun for children. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Lindsey Reece]

I was very intrigued by this book! I love the concept of it and how it puts things in perspective. I was fascinated by the facts and I think my students would be too. I really liked how at the end of the book it showed all of the calculations as to how far a frog can hop compared to a human etc. I think that students who enjoy math may be really interested in that part of the book. After reading this book to my kids, I would have them find another interesting fact about an animal and have them convert it into what they could do personally. I think it would be a really fun math lesson.

[Marcus Gulley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you hopped like a frog.... you could jump from home plate to first base in one mighty leap!If you lifted like an ant...you could lift a car!If you grew as much in your first nine months of life as you grew in the nine months before you were born...you would weigh more than 2 1/2 million elephants and would be taller than a mountain!Did you know that a frog can jump 20 times its body length? Or that an ant can lift 50 times its weight? Or that a baby's weight increases 3 1/2 billion times during the nine months before it is born?

[Madison Ramsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book explains some incredible natural occurrences in terms that make sense to a kid. This story explains the size of things we cannot see and the abilities that are hard to fathom. The ending of the book has a scientific explanation of each quality expressed in the book.

This story would be a great way to introduce some animals to students. This would be a good introduction into the abilities of animals.

[Tessa Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is both an informational and fun book to read to your class. Each page is filled with a new fact about animals. Such as if you ate like a shrew, you could eat over 700 hamburgers in one day. Each page leaves the reader questioning more about these animals and their strengths and abilities.

[Alyssa Ricard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really neat. Not only does it make silly jokes about being an animal or bug and the things you could do, but at the end it tells why. There's information about each animal. This is a good way to bring on a science lesson.

[Taylor McDiffett · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this book I was a little confused about what it was talking about. Until the very end, when it gave information about each animal. I think it would be a good book to use while learning about different animals, so maybe during a science lesson.

[Grace DeBaltzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book that takes animal traits and explains what humans could do if they had similar traits. Kids love this book. Interesting way to compare animals to humans (a standard in early grades) and to learn animal facts.

[Little Seesaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't actually about frogs, it is about all animals. The book compares what humans could do if they had the same traits as some of our favorite animals. I read it with Hazel and she really liked it.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre and quirky illustrations help explain the natural world in a way that will engage and amaze young readers. How would you eat/jump/run/etc. if you could do these things the way some animals do them?

[Ari]

if you hopped like a frog, you could jump from home plate to first base in one mighty leap. This book goes through different attributes of animals and bugs. This book take what if situations and and shows super humans that would exist if people had the same super qualities as animals.

[☆Amanda Cresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our math teacher is using this book to teach our high school students proportions. I love the examples Schwartz offers. This is another of his books that makes math fun and visual.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a cool reading/science lesson to read aloud. It put animals into our perspective and it also gave some facts at the end of the book.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty cool book as it gives some actual scientific insight - and the illustrations are pretty funny for kids too.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some math is presented in a fun way through fascinating facts in this story. It's an enjoyable story with amazing information, and more details at the end of the book. Great illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-year-old loves the visuals and the funny comparisons. We've read it several nights in a row recently. Good secondhand bookstore find!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduces the concept of ratio by comparing what humans would be able to do if they had bodies like different animals.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud for 2nd or 3rd grade. Read the author's note. Great for teaching math to perhaps reluctant "mathers". I read this every year to my second grade classrooms.

[Aishe Miric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really awesome book that incorporates math. So interesting. Don't skip over the letter the author writes to the reader in the beginning. My kids loved the illustrations too!!

[Asha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book with a great pace to read to an early reader.

[Mandi Simmons]

Did you know that a frog can jump 20 times its body length? Read this book to find out what you could do if you had the amazing abilities of a frog.

[Sydney Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny while also informative.

[Alyssa Arce]

This book is about all the different things you could do if you had the amazing abilities of a frog. In class I would have students fill out a fact sheet.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for doing math with 3-5th grade!

[MaKenzie Reiff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was suggested by a guest speaker in my lecture class. It taught ratios and proportions by comparing them to a human. I wasn’t thrilled with this book because it was written for a younger audience, but the concept it taught was for an older audience. I would not use this in my future classroom.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math, Nature

[Erin B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun little twist on an informational book, best for upper elementary. It teaches students math and science, while relating it to them. It takes a statistic (like how far a frog can hop), and relates it to how a child would do in the same instance. It is a fun book that demonstrates many different aspects of math and science.

[Charlynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking for an un-intimidating way to introduce ratios and show that math can be fun? Schwartz' If You Hopped Like a Frog does this as he compares a human's abilities to those of animals. Not only does he present the fantastic yet factual knowledge, but he also provides mathematical explanations to demonstrate how he determined the informational concept book's amazing feats. Schwartz' claims are then emphasized by Warhola's use of diagonal lines; his distorted, abstract shapes; and his use of juxtaposition to show the differences between the realistic, anatomically correct images and the absurd ones calculated by the ratios. Despite this synchronization between text and illustrations, some readers might be disappointed in the occasionally unimaginative, repetitive language used in the book (“if you craned your neck like a crane, p. 15), though Schwartz does recurrently use alliteration to liven up his words (“towering tot, taller than mountain tops, p. 21).

[Katie Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book, especially to use in science or math. It's full of fun facts that puts in perspective what we, as humans, could do if we had the adaptations that animals have. I'll use one of his many facts as an example. He writes that if we were as strong as ants, we could lift cars. Then at the end of the book, he goes into further detail about each of his facts to prove why they're true. Ants can lift about 50 times their own weight. If you weigh 60 pounds, you could lift a car weighing 3,000 pounds. The book is fun to use in class. Before reading, I've passed out a graphic organizer with many of the fun facts from the book. The students had to place a checkmark next to the statements they thought were true. Then, after I read them the book, they had to reread the statements and put a checkmark next to the ones that were actually true. They got a kick out of the fact that every statement on there was true!

[Stephanie Herman]

"If you hopped like a frog...you could jump from home plate to first base in one might leap!" -David M. Schwartz

If You Hopped Like a Frog is a real treat for students ages 7-10 years old. Schwartz uses a little bit of math and a lot of imagination to encourage his readers to explore different animal species and their unique abilities. By asking you to consider what you could do if you too had the same capabilities, Schwartz prompts you to investigate more about the various animals described in his story.

This book is written in a story-like format to keep his readers engaged. The clear visual images Schwartz and Warhola create help the reader relate to and further understand the information presented. In the back of the book, Schwartz provides more details about each comparison he makes. These short, informative paragraphs go more into depth about the math and science behind his story.