Fat Frogs on a Skinny Log by Sara Riches

Book Genre: Fiction, Counting Book

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc. (28 pages)

Awards or Honors: WA Authors and Illustrators (2000)

Summary: This story begins with 10 fat frogs sitting on the bank of a pond and they all decide to jump into the water to cool off. Then each frog, one by one, jumps onto a log that is floating in the pond. With each fat frog landing on the log it becomes more and more unsteady until it finally flips. As the last fat frog jumps on it flips over and tosses all the frogs back into the water.

Personal Rating & Reason: ****Great! I really like this story for several reasons. First, I LOVE frogs. Next, it is an entertaining and colorful counting book that children would enjoy. The describing words are extremely vivid and really get your imagination going.

Reading Level: K-1 (1.5 AR)

Interest Level: ages 3-6 years

Possible Uses: Teachers could use this book across the curriculum in science, math, writing and art.
Science: This story could be used to introduce frogs and their life cycles. It could be tied to discussing animals and their interaction to other animals and surroundings. You could have them each create a poster of the life cycle of a frog.
Math: I think this would be an awesome use of one to one ratio and counting to ten. The story could be read and the children use teddy bear counters, linking cubes, etc. to act out a some, some more story.
Writing: The teacher could create a Circle or Bubble Map and have the students list items about ponds or frogs. They students could then write sentences using the Circle or Bubble Map. You could also do a lesson on the describing words. Explaining what each word means with other more common identifiable words.
Art: You could have the children make their own Fat Frogs on a Skinny Log books with construction paper. Have the words pre-printed on the pages and have them illustrate the pages themselves.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: None at this time.