Frog

by Susan Cooper, Jane Browne (Illustrator)

Charming illustrations and lively text combine to tell the tale of Little Joe, who, longing to learn how to swim like everyone else in his family, finds comfort in a little frog who helps him to overcome his fears.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Susan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013)

Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.

Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.

Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."

Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda short, kinda sweet, a story about a young boy who hasn't caught onto how to move his body to swim in the family pool. The rest of the family can swim quiet well, and from the illustrations readers feel the boy's embarrassment, and sadness. A small frog jumps into the pool, and the boy's calmness saves it. Then the boy is able to swim by mimicking the strong kicks of the frog. The illustrations are old school, giving the book a slightly dated feel, but the picture of the frog are fun, and the way the text moves across the page with different fonts makes the book more engaging.

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very very simple story and illustrations.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Joe is afraid to swim, though his mom and siblings take to the water like fish.
When a frog ends up in their pool, Little Joe quietly observes and takes to the water... like a frog!

[Therese Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

…..

As I may have mentioned before, Parker is a big friend to frogs. He calls them hops. Not surprising. This one was pulled off the quick pics children’s shelf. It’s a sweet story by one of my favorite OG young adult authors, Susan Cooper. It’s beautifully and sensitively illustrated by Jane Browne.

Joe is a little boy who cannot swim in a family of strong swimmers, who have a beautiful backyard pool. He watches from the sidelines as they have fun and exercise, but he just can’t make his arms and legs swim. One afternoon, a small frog from a nearby pond falls into the pool. He watches how he uses his strong legs to swim back-and-forth until the family catches wind of the reptile sharing there pool, and they try to catch the misadventurous frog, without success.

Jo is able to gently extricate the wee amphibian so it can return to his pond and use what he has seen to venture out into his own pond.

It’s a lovely story of being kind and learning from others, even if they are different from you. A good lesson for Parker and reminder for me.

…..

,,,,,,

[Jennie Park]

This is a story about a young boy who does not know how to swim. He is out at the pool with his entire family (who all swim very well) and he is feeling left out. Then, a small frog comes into the pool and the whole family tries to catch him. Little Joe (the boy who cannot swim) watches the frog closely and observes how the frog is swimming. He then later on sets the frog free from the pool and starts to swim on his own- just like the frog.

[Mitchell Ary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get that some people need some encouraging words when learning how to swim. this book is not one of them. this is an awful book and I'm not entirely sure how it got published in the first place. and when i was reading the primary thought was not for little joe but when was this book going to end. DO NOT READ.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hit at storytime today. We frog kicked afterward.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little story of overcoming fear and being aware of those around us who may be in need.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little story about being observant of nature.

[Laree Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book! It's about a little boy who cant swim; but quickly befriends Frog ...and learns how to swim. I would use this book to help students who are struggling with low self esteem.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story of a boy who overcomes his fears of water to help a frog in need is extremely attractive. For another story like it, try The Deep by Tim Wenton.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Milestone: learning to swim

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over-simplified plot.