The Ring Went Zing!: A Story That Ends With a Kiss

by Sean Taylor, Jill Barton (Illustrator)

Once upon a time, once and never again, a frog fell in love with a chicken, and so he bought her a golden ring. But when he drops that ring? Well, that's when the real fun starts. From the swan in sports gear to a skateboarding rabbit, from a tricycling goat to a dachshund on a motorcycle, the antics get faster and funnier with each new page turn. The frog finally does get the ring back, teamwork prevails, and the story ends with a kiss (just not the one you might expect!). Sean Taylor?s boppy rhythms and a ringing refrain will have kids anticipating lines and shouting along. Of course, a great read-aloud is made even better by great illustrations, and award-winner Jill Barton delivers with comically attired animals and a variety of kid-appealing vehicles. A perfect ?every kid? book in the classic mold.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Love

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2009

About the author

Sean Taylor started writing poetry as a teenager. In 1993, he came across a newspaper article which reported that a goat slaughtered in Iran had been found to have teeth made of gold. He tried writing a story for children. It was called 'The Goat with the Golden Teeth' and it won second prize in a competition run by the British newspaper 'The Independent' and Scholastic Children's Books. Since then, Sean has focussed on writing for children and has published over forty books for young readers of different ages. As well as writing, he has many years’ experience visiting schools, where he works with poetry and storytelling to encourage young people to write themselves. He lives partly in England (where he was born) and partly in Brazil( where his wife is from.)

Reviews

[Loren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, this book lost me ... it was a good idea but it just kept going and going as it went the story got more convoluted. Plus the ending did not work for me! The title sets up the ending but it still fell flat. It is suppose to be a humorous book but not for this little red hen. BTW what is up with animals going cross species lately?

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frog and Chicken fall in love. Frog loses the ring when he tries to give it to Chicken. They encounter other animals who help chase the ring through town. Eventually, Frog gets it and gives it to Chicken. We see another surprise animal pair at end of the book. Cute drawings and interesting concept but the storyline if flat.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but it wasn't a home run. It's not the same-ol'-same-ol' nursery rhyme or fairy tale, so that's a plus. And there's lots of fun word play, and a cast of cute animals, so could be a good storytime read (could be a good one to pull out at Valentine's). Still, there was something missing that didn't quite make it a favorite.

[Zoe Hickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ring went zing, as a trainee teacher I was intrigued by the rhyming title and wondered whether it would include more rhyme in the book. I was right! Throughout this book there is lots of rhyme which you could use with children. The book is about a load of animals who are trying to catch a ring which went rolling away and is about how they work together to achieve a goal.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

well. it is engaging. it's a bit longer than I would read to a four or five year old child in a small group. it has a pretty deep message. and, if you're ready for that conversation, this may be the book to help present it.

[Kim Stence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great action story with a message of helping those who you don't know. I loved it.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book that was funny and the illustrations were cute too. My daughter and I enjoyed it.

[Sarah BT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit it. I'll pulled this one off the new shelf because it said "A story that ends with a kiss" and I'm a sucker for romance and happy endings.

This is a fun rhyming tale. The animals chase off after the ring and continually find another obstacle to capturing the ring. In each instance, a new animal joins in on the chase and the animals all pile up onto the new mode of transportation. It's a humorous story and it does end in a kiss. But it's not for one who likes typical animal romances. I mean, a chicken and a frog romance story? It's a silly book that's for sure. Kids who like funny rhyming stories that build a new element on top of the last will get a kick of this tale.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. This book is a rhyming poetry book, the words that rhyme on each page aren't always real words and are highlighted so a child could follow along with the rhythm of the poetry and give them a better understanding of how to write poetry. This book could also show children that poetry can have a story line. The story line in this book is a frog and chicken who fall in love and the frog gets the chicken a golden ring but they are clumsy and drop it. They follow it many places and eventually catch it so that they can kiss. Another theme in this book is that love can be diverse, it's not restricted.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sucker for books that address the reader as part of the story. Frog and Chicken are in love, but when Frog proposes-- the engagement ring flies out of his hands (flippers?) and bounces across the pages. Frog, Chicken, and a host of animal friends chase the ring and unite together to save the day.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about a frog and a chicken who fall in love (although why the author feels the need to stress that this only happened once and never again, I don't know) and as the frog proposes, the ring rolls away, and the story builds as other animals pitch in to "stop that ring!"

All the -ing words make this work for a phonological lesson, and it'd make a cute storybox for retelling.

[Miranda Parker]

I could read this book during the week of Valentine's day to a K-5 learner because it talks about a frog falling in love with a chicken.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one that doesn't work as well as it should as a great idea gets killed by awkward text.
And in a country with a problem with gay marriage, are the interspecies pairings here going to be accepted? :/

[Kelli Dana]

*Good use of adjectives and other grammar devices.
*A cute/creative story that would be good to get creative juices flowing.
*Great book to read when you are teaching students about detail.
*Good use of contractions

[Tracie]

Another Valentine's possibility - pair with How About a Kiss for Me?

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know there's a kiss at the end, but it is not what you expect...

[Lisa Shaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty freakin adoreable. I kind of read it with a equality message,which is really important right now. Love is love <3

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for SK - 3.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and wonderful read aloud!

[Danielle Mootz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute, funny, rhyming romance novel for kids with a surprise kiss at the end!