The plot of this book really is pretty much the Christmas song Twelve Days of Christmas. It begins with the first day of Christmas when ‘One’ frog gives a gift to a friend – Bea. It’s a parcel from a pear tree. After this, every individual frog gives a gift to another, with the whole process being repeated and building from the start. Every page is a lovely double spread with big bright illustrations of the frogs, and the page gets fuller and fuller with all the presents as it goes along.
Twelve Little Festive Frogsis fun to read, but make sure there are no asthma storms scheduled because you will run out of breath pretty quick! It does take a little while to get through, as it really is the exact same layout as the song. It is a book that kids will love to sing along with and the pictures make it easy for them to guess the words. It also teaches them counting and numbers as you can count the presents on every page. I love the little frogs and following them along and seeing what presents they get, and what cheeky antics they get up to in the background.
By the time you get the last page and have to sing all twelve presents, you might need a few puffs of a Ventolin (if you give it the gusto it requires!). It is well written and easy to follow, and written by a prolific British author Hilary Robinson, who wrote of my first ever favourite picture book some 25 years ago – Sarah the Spider. Robinson and illustrator Mandy Stanley have created many fabulous books together, and this one fits in with their fun effective stories for younger readers.
Title: Twelve Little Festive Frogs
Illustrator: Mandy Stanley
Publisher: Catch a Star (New Frontier Publishing), $14.99
Publication Date: 1 October 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922326355
For ages: 0 – 3
Type: Picture Book
January 7, 2022 at 12:36AM DimbutNice