Oi frog! by Kes Gray

Ill. by Jim Field. Hachette, 2014. ISBN 9781444910865.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Rhyming words. Animals. Idioms. 'The cat sat on the mat' is a very familiar refrain, and in this book, Kes Gray takes that wellknown phrase a little further, applying a rhyming word to a multitude of animals, in response to a frog not wanting to sit on a log because it is splintery. The frog challenges the cat about each animal including lions, goats, weasels, moles and gorillas. Each line is hilariously reflected in the wittily detailed illustrations by Jim Field. Watch out for the gloriously unhappy gorilla on a pillar, or the wonderful gathering of foxes sitting on boxes, and the large family of gophers sitting on a sofa, while the stork on a fork, the understandably unsafe looking seal on a wheel and the full mouthed ape sitting on grapes all add to the humour of the story.
The endpapers add more fun as Field has given the reader an array of zany frogs to look at.
A fun way to look at rhyming words and add to the presence of poetry in the home or classroom, as well as just a very funny book to share and read out loud.
Fran Knight