I Took My Frog to the Library

by Eric A. Kimmel

When Bridgett brings her pets to the library, the hyena laughs so loudly nobody can hear the story, the giraffe tries to read over everybody's shoulder, and the frog jumps onto the checkout desk, scaring the librarian. But it's the well-behaved elephant who causes the biggest problems of all! Full-color throughout.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Humor, Fiction, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Eric A. Kimmel is an American author of more than 150 children's books. His works include Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman), Sydney Taylor Book Award winners The Chanukkah Guest and Gershon's Monster, and Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Bridgett takes her frog to the library in this amusing picture-book romp, he jumps on the checkout desk and frightens the librarian. Each animal that Bridgett brings - a hen, pelican, python, giraffe, hyena and elephant - causes chaos, until finally the librarian tells her that her animals must stay at home...

Although I never picked it up as a girl - it was published in 1990, at a time when I thought myself too mature for picture-books - I Took My Frog to the Library really brought me back to my childhood! The artwork of Blanche Sims is unmistakable, and reminded me strongly of the Kids of Polk Street School chapter-book series that was so popular when I was young, and which she also illustrated. The story here is fun, the mayhem amusing, and the implicit message to children - leave your pets at home, when visiting the library - is worked seamlessly into the over-the-top narrative. Recommended to all young animal lovers and library visitors.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny little story about a girl taking her frog to the library and the mishap that ensues. Then her hen. Then her pelican. And various other animals, until the librarian says to stop.

Penny was a little in shock at first that someone would actually do that, but understanding kicked in and she giggled along.

Ages: 2 - 6

Content Considerations: nothing to note.

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[Alicia Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl takes her frog to the library, but things don't work out so well. She takes other animals too, but they have some issues behaving in the library as well. It's a little old so there are outdated things like card catalogs, but the story is adorable. I had this read to me in a storytime and all the kids loved it as well. There were many giggles and I am so glad that I've been introduced to this book.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

09/26/2023: Definitely didn't remember having read this one before!

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very humorous story for animal lovers

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a laugh-out-loud silly book about a girl's increasingly alarming parade of pets who visit the library. Most delightful of all were the distinctive illustrations by Blanche Sims, who I recognized from the beloved POLK STREET SCHOOL books of my childhood.

[Cheryl]

Really not my kind of story. Most kids will probably giggle or even lol. But from now on when I want to read Kimmel I'll stick to his folklore.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the various animals in the library and the chaos they created. The pictures were humorous. And the ending was great. So when I learned that we had flannel board cut-outs for the story, how could I pass it up?

3/18/10 The felt board with this story made it go along well and both groups definitely enjoyed.

3/25/10 This worked well with the smaller groups that are typical to downtown, especially the Thursday group when I was able to have the children put up the felt pieces themselves.

4/4/12 I made a felt board for this, since I no longer had access to the one in VA. I know the not-so-reactive spring break group liked the book. They just didn't react very much.

2/27/16 Used in Special Needs Storytime, with my feltboard pieces. I taped them up so we could search for and point to the animal. But our one special needs child was in tantrum mode, and not much was noticed or participated. The parents sure tried!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: I took my frog to the library, but he jumped on the checkout desk and scared the librarian. I took my hen to the library, but she laid an egg in the card catalog.

Premise/plot: Bridgett loves, loves, loves to go to the library. So do her animals. The librarian isn't so happy to see the animals. Can Bridgett find a way to make her animals AND the librarian happy?

My thoughts: I really loved this one. I love stories that follow a pattern. That is I love picture books and early readers that follow a pattern. The pattern here, of course, is "I took my _____ to the library, but ________________________." I think parents and teachers could take advantage of the silliness and have little ones write their own stories. And the stories wouldn't even have to be only about the library.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of what can and will happen when Bridgett brings her pets to the library. A Frog, hen, pelican, python, giraffe, hyena, or an elephant (no matter how well behaved it is) should not be taken to a library. Silly Fun!

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy this book. I love the progression of animals and the shenanigans they get up to. We do need an update though - most libraries don't have a card catalog so the hen needs to lay her egg somewhere else. :-)

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly classic picture book.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this book showed actions and natural consequences. I also love how the librarian modeled kindness when requesting a solution. And I love how the girl didn't get offended at the request but found a way to go to the library and how to keep her animals happy. A wonderful book all around!

**Talking points - How should you act when you go to the library or to other public places? When you see bad behavior that is disturbing people around you, should you ignore it or try in a kind way to stop it? When someone requests a change from you, how should you respond? Why?

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book " I took My Frog to the Library" this girl named Bridgett tries to bring all of her animals to the library with her. She first tries to bring her frog, then her hen, pelican, python, giraffe, hyena, and elephant. I feel that this book really explains to kids why animals aren't allowed in a library or at any other place, but home. I feel that every kid wonders at some point why their pets aren't allowed to go with them places and this book perfectly describes why pets should stay at home.

[Penney Letbetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this book every year, despite the fact that many things in it are out of date. But this year I use that to my advantage. I took the liberty to talk about what was different in the pictures from how things are now. We even talked about the students not having masks on their faces while they were gathering in the library. I don’t know if I will ever stop using this book at the beginning of the year. At the end we discuss what kind of animal students would like to bring into a library and then I get to talk about how I had a kitten spend a month in the library after its mom abandoned it.

[Pug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty stupid book, as I expected. But it did make me chuckle a couple of times, namely when the chicken laid an egg in the card catalog! And then the surprise twist at the end where the well-behaved elephant reads to all of the other animals. For some reason, I didn't see that one coming!

[Elysa Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Took My Frog to the Library is a book that I enjoyed mainly because of the illustrations. I know children would be interested because of the animals that seen in the book. Each of the animals' characteristics were used as an interruption in the library, which I thought was creative. The illustrations were fun to look at, they were detailed, and I enjoyed every little detail in the pictures.

[Natalie Hoist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story. It fun to read, but was not my favorite. It would be a good bed-time story, but I would not have this in my classroom. This book was about a girl who took her pets to the library.

[Karen Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little outdated (catalogs are gone!), this book was my go-to library tour book for years.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to 2nd graders today for outreach and it was quite funny! I hope none of these animals ever show up in my library!

[Julia Crainshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated (card catalog!), but this book will make kinders and first graders laugh.

[Ásta Ha. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Æðisleg barnabók.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love to read this book during storytime. Sometimes, if I'm short on time, I have to skip the page about the chicken laying an egg in a card catalog...always have to explain a card catalog!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl takes different animals to the library and each creates its own brand of chaos. One of the “go to” read alouds for the beginning of the school year in the library.

[Brettianee Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read and reread this book countless times in the 2 weeks we had it checked out

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leave your pets at home when visiting the library!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun story, but has the unintended message that not everyone is welcome in the library.

[Jenna Scribbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good way to open a discussion about library rules. It’s a bit outdated - mentions a card catalog, but nothing too drastic. Cute art. Lots of animals.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little kid brings eat of her pets to the library one by one. They all make an impression of their own. The elephant was the most memorable lol

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts don't apply anymore (card catalog) but a short silly story with cute illustrations.