I received a copy of the new book, I KNOW AN OLD MONKEY WHO SWALLOWED A FROG by Jennifer Ward from the publisher, Marshall Cavendish, and I am so excited about it! I love versions of this fun song! And this new one is especially fun. The book takes place in the rain forest and the monkey is quite amusing. I love his facial expressions throughout the book when he is deciding what to eat next. This monkey definitely has personality. He never gets that miserable face that shows he has had too much to eat! He eats mostly animals--things like frogs, sloths, and tapirs. But he also eats things like cocoa (to sweeten the frog). I am excited to add this book to the shelf in the library. I think this is the perfect book for read aloud, to add to a basket of song books, to support new readers who are already familiar with the original story, and more. This is a really fun and well-done version of a favorite cumulative tale.
I reviewed another of Jennifer Ward's books last year, THE BUSY TREE. And, I noticed on Jennifer Ward's site, that she has an upcoming book (2011) called THERE WAS AN ODD PRINCESS WHO SWALLOWED A PEA--really, one of my favorite stories in this format. I can't wait to see what she's done!
Gotta love a guy who thinks adding cocoa to the diet is important! I'm enjoying all of your song book posts. You are filling my song book basket with great books, and keeping book companies in business. My summer goal was to update my classroom library, and your posts are a huge help! Thanks, Franki.
ReplyDeleteThe only beef I have with this book is that the refrain doesn't have that catchy 3-way rhyme the original song has (fly/why/die vs. frog/why/hog). It just doesn't flow as well for me . . . but it is still a fun book.
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