Froggy Dearest
by Scott Gordon
illustrated by Konstantin Grishin, Sebastian Kaulitzki & Julien Tromeur
Date: 2014
Publisher: S. E. Gordon
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca
One fine day, you come across the frog of your dreams. Soft spoken and ever courteous, you've never met a creature quite so charming. But tread carefully, for this frog has quite a secret to share!
(synopsis from Amazon.com)
This lackluster children's book epitomizes the perils of exploring the world of self-published books. It fails on nearly every level and does little but annoy the reader. I'm glad I didn't have to pay anything for it.
The book's first problem is that it's completely inappropriate for its reading level. The frog speaks directly to the reader, basically singing his own praises in the hope that he'll get someone to kiss him. For a book that's intended for kids between the ages of 3 and 6, that's just a little bit creepy. Also, the language is a bit advanced for that age group. Would kids that age know words like "misfortune", "radiating", and "stereoscopic"? I kind of doubt it.
The book's other main problem is the "illustrations". The author basically went onto stock image sites and found a bunch of pictures of digitally rendered frogs that fit with the text. The "illustrators" are listed on the copyright page, but not on the front of the book. That strikes me as a bit dishonest, and overall it just seems lazy. If you really want to write a picture book, collaborate with an artist and give them proper credit.
And, finally, the book is just boring. There's no plot. The frog is annoying and creepy. And the ending is just stupid. I would not insult a child's intelligence by giving them such a book. There are much better children's picture books out there.
Quotable moment:
You paint my heart a deep shade of red: vibrant and passionate and full of love.
Recommended to: nobody
Premise: 1/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 1/5
Enjoyment: 0/5
Overall: 1.17 out of 5
I recently reviewed Sparky! and Uni the Unicorn, both of which are pretty cute and were published in 2014. They're both more suited to girls than boys, though. I haven't come across any recently that would be great for little boys, unfortunately.
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