The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake

The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake
Buy The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Dyslexia Friendly
Reviewer: Anne Thompson
Summary: This charming tale of a friendship between a grief stricken widow and a frog with a difference has a touch of fairy tale about it. It's a story about finding friendship in unlikely places and coping with life's difficulties with wonderful illustrations that add to its appeal.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 96	Date: February 2017
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1781125915
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When Jo's Great Aunt Gertrude's sea captain husband is drowned at sea she is grief-stricken and, in despair, she goes for a walk alone. During this walk she notices a small frog on a lily-pad. But he is no ordinary frog - he's a dancing frog and the two quickly become good friends. Soon the duo are touring the world with their routine, spreading joy and fun - and carrying out the occasional rescue - wherever they go.

The story begins with a little girl, Jo, asking her mother for stories about their family who then responds with the tale of Great Aunt Gertrude's story of love, loss and adventure. Throughout the book Jo continues to pass comment and ask questions which gives the story, despite its fairy tale quality, a touch of reality. As you would expect the illustrations by Quentin Blake are wonderful giving Gertrude an old fashioned appeal and George, the dancing frog, a slightly comic air. When news of George's skills travels he and Gertrude, who is now managing his affairs, find themselves travelling the world appearing in theatres in large cities and making friends as they go.

This is a story within a story and highlights how important stories are to us and in some ways important to our relationships too. This lovely book is filled with warmth and demonstrates how, with the support of friends, we can learn to overcome life's difficulties. This reissue of a book first published more than thirty years ago is part of the wonderful Little Gems series by Barrington Stoke. As a primary school librarian I do love this aptly named series. Although targeted at dyslexic readers with an easy to read font and cream paper to reduce glare they have a very wide appeal. There are many children who prefer a slightly shorter read and the size and large number of illustrations means that this does not look too daunting. In addition there are puzzles included on the inside of the front and back covers which add to the enjoyment.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this review copy.

There are many other enjoyable stories in this series and you may like to try Mary's Hair by Eoin Colfer or Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door by Julia Donaldson and Hannah Shaw.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Story of the Dancing Frog by Quentin Blake at Amazon.com.

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