Ribbit

by Jorey Hurley

With minimal prose and joyful illustrations, acclaimed artist and author Jorey Hurley tells the story of a year in the life of a frog family.

From tadpole to froglet to frog, there is more to a frog’s life that can be clearly seen. Filled with stunning illustrations and only one word on each spread, Jorey Hurley’s vibrant picture book tells the story of a day in the life of a frog family, above and below the pond.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Nature, Science, Childrens, Nonfiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2017

About the author

Jorey Hurley studied art at Princeton, received her law degree from Stanford, and studied design at FIT. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

With just one adverb on each page, we see the story of a frog's life from egg to adult frog and how the cycle continues. Since there is only the one word, would be great to use in both one on one reading and story times. For story times, read the one word and have the children "read" the story using the pictures to tell you what is happening. Don't miss the rest of the series Nest, Fetch, and Hop. Has been described as a "quiet masterpiece". Highly recommend.

[Mama Bibliosoph · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son Harry became increasingly fascinated by animal lifecycles this year. When I saw Ribbit at the library I knew he had to have it.

Each spread of this beautifully illustrated book shows a moment in the lifecycle of a frog paired with a single word. Harry loves pointing to each word, reading it, and then talking about what's happening on each page. I love mostly wordless picture books for kids like Harry who struggle with scripting because they come out differently each time.

Ribbit begins with a clutch of floating eggs ("wait"). The next page shows a tadpole being born ("hatch"). The word choices continue to aptly describe the sequence of events.

I understand why the Kirkus review complains that the book has the frog greet a second frog with "ribbit" rather than choosing a word to describe mating or reproduction. This euphemistic side-step is silly. However, Harry loves this moment because he gets to make an animal sound. We talk about this page as the frog saying hi to the other frog before they make eggs. I'm more in disagreement with, personally, Hurley's use of "change" instead of "metamorphosis." She uses "hibernate" instead of a simpler word like "sleep," so I don't understand her logic. I don't normally endorse the use of big vocabulary words in picture books, but these particular biology terms come up again and again in preschooler environments and there is only one word to focus on at a time.

While this book is perfect for a kid like Harry, the action is remarkably subtle and the interest highly subject-driven. It's not at all interesting for a kid who isn't already invested in the topic. My son Luke won't even look at it.

****
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is from a longer blog post about the best new books of 2017: http://www.lineupthebooks.com/summer-...

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning is my word for this book. The life cycle of a frog using one word per two page spread and the illustrations are spot on with various shades of green, purple, blue and brown. I was captivated from the beginning illustration of the frog eggs in a mass floating in the pond. Hurley has also included an informational page about the life cycle of a frog.
For me this brought back the spring of 6th grade when our class watched up close this entire cycle thanks to a classmate who supplied the frog eggs, the water, and the greenery. Containers were sitting in every windowsill in the classroom.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cyclical story about a year in the life of a frog, told using Photoshop images and one-word descriptions on each page.

The pictures are simple, and help to show how a frog develops from an egg to a tadpole to a froglet, and then all the way through to her adult stage and her own opportunity to create the next generation of frogs.

The author includes a lengthy note at the end of the book which includes her inspiration for the book along with more specific information on the life cycle of the frog.

This book is well worth a read with younger children and would likely appeal to children during a group read since the narrative is so sparse.

[Evan Childress · Rating 3 out of 5]

With only one word on each page to describe the events taking place, there is a lot of room to talk through this book with readers. Following these leopard frogs through their life cycle is as visually appealing as it is educational, and the additional author's note in the back provide's more information about frogs to (hopefully) help answer some of those burning questions only a child can think of.

[Joanne Zienty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of a frog in 15 words (actually 14, because one is repeated twice). A lovely, almost word-less picture book with striking illustrations full of restful greens and vibrant pops of contrasting colors. As a read aloud, have your audience of kiddos tell what's going on and predict what word and action might happen next. The author's note at the end expands on the life cycle of a frog and includes how to tell the difference between a frog, a tree frog and a toad. Loved this one!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be sure to pair this with "Hop" by Hurley. One word per full double page spread tells the life cycle of a frog.
These simple-looking illustrations appeal to me. I say simple-looking because they are done purposefully and everything has a meaning. They have clear lines that also blend - just as animals do in nature.
Author's note includes detailed info about 'true frogs', and leopard frogs (the ones shown in the book) being one example.

[Jessica Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to love this book, so badly, because the illustrations are great and the nearly-wordless minimalist style is so great, but sometimes these books just really come off as try-hards. Like, they don't feel like they're written for kids at all and the author just really wants to throw it in your face that you didn't "get" their art style. Or maybe I'm just in a "I need storytime books and this is not it" mood and I'll love it tomorrow.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follows the life cycle of a frog for a year with full page spread pictures in a simple paper cut-out style with a single word on each page.

Simple, but pretty informative, especially with the author's note at the end of the book. I feel like this book has more background detail than Nest, which is probably why I like it better even though they are similar in concept.

No content issues.

[mg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Jorey Hurley's Nest, Ribbit is a one-word-per-page delight. Showing the life cycle of a frog in simple words and illustrations, a little more explanation might be needed for little ones to fully grasp the concepts, though.

[Michelle Turnure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on a recommendation shelf at my public library. It has wonderful illustrations and each page layout is captivating. One word captures the scene on each spread and follows a little frog in as it moves around its habitat. My daughter (6-months) loved the colorful illustrations.

[Kelley Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely art, would be a great way to explore the life cycle, predator/prey relationship. The text is minimal - one word per page. However it would be awesome to have as an assignment to write teh words that finish the story.

[Evianrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very simple book. That's not a bad thing! About one word per page and it goes through the life cycle of a frog. I borrowed this from the library for my 9 month old. It was cute! Might borrow it again later sometime.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very simple story that explains the lifecycle of a frog with only one word per page paired with colorful and realistic though uncomplicated illustrations. This would work well for a STEAM storytime, even if the children are very young.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subtle introduction to the life cycle of a frog.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice big pictures with one word per page. Goes through the progression of a frog's life.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute basic book. I love these for young children.

[DeNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

simple text, well illustrated, and gave us lots to talk about. We'll be looking for Hurley's other books.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for toddler storytimes about the life cycle of a frog.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book about the lifecycle of a frog. Great illustrations in this simple book. One word is used to describe the illustration - grow, climb, leap, hide, etc.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice illustrations & simple words for the kids to explain their thoughts during storytime.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a great intro for young young kids into the concepts of growth and the life cycle of frogs, but I don't like it for storytime.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeously illustrated depiction of the life cycle of frogs.

[Maria Caplin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text single word verbs - could see it as a mentor text for primary classes.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the pictures and simple text

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect mix of information and story for a young reader. Great pair with nosy crow’s Franklin Frog app. Would work well in a pre-k story time.

[Olivia S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, kind of boring, one word per page, most focus on illustrations, which are good, but I didn't love them or it.

[Kirsten Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to be missed: the Author’s Note with factual info at back of the book

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series of books by Jorey Hurley, might be an interesting writing prompt.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has one word for each illustration. It shows the life cycle of a frog.