The Legend of Frog by Guy Bass
| The Legend of Frog by Guy Bass | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Robert James
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| Summary: This adventure didn't gel with my sense of humour as much as I was hoping, but I think it'll be a great addition to bookcases of readers looking for a fun quest story. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 240 | Date: January 2014 |
| Publisher: Stripes Publishing | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1847153883 | |
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Frog is about to journey to the End of the World to stake a claim for his rightful throne. Armed only with a stick called Basil Rathbone and a pair of catastrophe pants, he expects it to be easy - but hadn't bargained on an army of aliens appearing. What's a Frog to do?
I've been trying to read more for this age range recently and have found some absolute gems so was really hoping this would be another one. This wasn't one of my favourites, but I think that's partly because my sense of humour isn't quite in tune with it. I think this will be one that is devoured by many youngsters so it's a book that I'd definitely recommend checking out.
The best part here is the plot - there's a strong concept for the story, as Frog tries to find his destiny as royalty only for events to overtake him, leaving him at the centre of an alien invasion. In addition, there were several twists which I didn't see coming - rare for someone who's read the amount of books I have! While Frog's catastrophe pants, the He-Man-like protector of the princess he meets, and his mighty weapon Basil Rathbone only made me smile a bit, I don't doubt that other readers will find them more entertaining and will end up laughing their way through this one.
My other issue, apart from the humour, was that I wasn't overly keen on the characters - the combination of Frog and the Princess both being so bratty annoyed me perhaps more than it was intended to, while the wizard who advised the Princess, her bodyguard, and the alien invaders all seemed a bit run of the mill to me.
However, there's plenty to balance out the bits I wasn't such a fan of. A genuinely clever plot, some strong character development for Frog himself, and an intriguing ending, mean that despite it not being altogether my cup of tea I'm interested enough to check out more from Bass in the future. I also thought the first-person extracts from Frog (the book's mainly written in third but includes a few parts where Frog talks about his catastrophe pants, Basil Rathbone, and other things) were well voiced. Additionally, the illustrations by Oda Sonju of the Dynamo studio are seriously impressive.
I think many young and young-at-heart readers will be big fans of this one!
I think fans of adventure will love the wonderful Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd-Jones.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Legend of Frog by Guy Bass 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 Legend of Frog by Guy Bass at Amazon.com.
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