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Ribbit!, by Rodrigo Folgueira, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, 2013, New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0307981462.
Age/Interest Level: 4-6 years
Lexile Level: AD500L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A family of frogs is more than a little confused when they discover a pig is sitting in their pond saying, “Ribbit!” They seek out advice from other animals to find out what’s going on.
Plot Summary: A group of frogs become very confused when a pig shows up, sitting on a rock in the middle of their pond, saying, “Ribbit!” Instead of asking him directly, they spread the word and solicit advice from the other animals. No one seems to know and the pig just keeps on saying, “Ribbit!” Finally, they call on the knowledge of the wise beetle who seems to have a very good explanation.
Critical Evaluation: This is a really lovely work, both silly in tone and yet with a wonderful message of acceptance. It’s less about understanding individuals and more about actually talking to them. The illustrations are mixed-media on a textured canvas and the deep greens and pinks blend together in a lovely way. It’s almost as though frogs and pigs were intended to go together. The words are moderately easy, but this is work which helps to be read out loud.
Why Included: The very silly premise makes for an easy digestion of the much bigger, and important, message of the work. Also, this work is from Argentina, representing one of the select Argentine works to make it into mainstream U.S. publishing.
Age/Interest Level: 4-6 years
Lexile Level: AD500L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A family of frogs is more than a little confused when they discover a pig is sitting in their pond saying, “Ribbit!” They seek out advice from other animals to find out what’s going on.
Plot Summary: A group of frogs become very confused when a pig shows up, sitting on a rock in the middle of their pond, saying, “Ribbit!” Instead of asking him directly, they spread the word and solicit advice from the other animals. No one seems to know and the pig just keeps on saying, “Ribbit!” Finally, they call on the knowledge of the wise beetle who seems to have a very good explanation.
Critical Evaluation: This is a really lovely work, both silly in tone and yet with a wonderful message of acceptance. It’s less about understanding individuals and more about actually talking to them. The illustrations are mixed-media on a textured canvas and the deep greens and pinks blend together in a lovely way. It’s almost as though frogs and pigs were intended to go together. The words are moderately easy, but this is work which helps to be read out loud.
Why Included: The very silly premise makes for an easy digestion of the much bigger, and important, message of the work. Also, this work is from Argentina, representing one of the select Argentine works to make it into mainstream U.S. publishing.