Bog Frog Hop by Kyle Mewburn

Ill. by Rebecca Cool. Little Hare, 2012. Hbk. RRP $22.99. ISBN 9781921714580.
'In a soggy bog is a mossy log and swimming around it are ten polliwogs, plip,
plop, glip glop, flip, flop.
One slippery polliwog grows legs, becomes a frog.
Nine slippery polliwogs
Plopping in the soggy bog
One flippy floppy frog
Sitting on the mossy log
Croak Croak Lonely frog.'
This is the most entertaining roll-off-the-tongue counting rhyme Miss Nearly 6 and I have shared for ages. The language is such fun and such a great example of its rhythms and rhymes that it's a delight to share. The illustrations by CBCA shortlisted illustrator Rebecca Cool, are the perfect accompaniment with their colour, simplicity and quirkiness. The little listener is drawn to counting the polliwogs as more and more become frogs and as they do, there is much to discover to intrigue and delight, especially when the scriffy scruffy dog becomes part of the action. And all the while, the rain falls harder - Drip! Drop! Glip! Glop! Splish! Splosh! Plish! Plosh! Splish! Splash! Ka-plish! Ka-plash!
And then the rain stops . . .
I took this book to a kindergarten class I was teaching and we had such fun turning it into a voice band to accompany the story and all the counting, adding and subtracting we were doing. Then we had a heap of fun creating our own polliwogs and frogs and raindrops for a mural that showcased their talents for all to see. A must-have on the shelves of our youngest students!
Barbara Braxton