The Five Frogs on Biscuit Bay #PictureBookReview 23

Story-

This is the story of a family of unique frogs looking for a better place to live. Their current area of habitat is a mess: the pond where they swim is not only too small for their growing families, but has become rather dirty, as well. The surrounding forest has also become too dangerous for the frog families. One night, a few of the young frogs overhear their parents and the other older frogs talking about the terrible situation and that they need to relocate. So Lia, the oldest of the frogs, decides to come up with a plan. She and Dom the Bomb (that’s his nickname) gather their 3 cousins and the plan is put into motion. Together the 5 wogs set out on a journey which lasts 4 days and brings them face to face with predators. They are closely watched and protected by the guardian spirit of the forest. With the help of the guardian spirit and their other friends, they finally reach a beautiful bay, their new home which they name Biscuit Bay.

However, something peculiar occurs here which catches the frogs by surprise. What is it that happened? What kind of a water body would be called by the name Biscuit Bay?

Read yourself to find out.

Sneak peek into the book (1)

My Review – 

This book is one of a kind for a children’s book where a detailed character sketch for each of the 5 frogs is given at the beginning of the book. This works for the story. The story treads at a fast pace without slowing down a bit on account of establishing the characters during the process of storytelling.

The frogs are relatable with their human characteristics and all of them have appropriate nicknames.

1. Lia, the Grace is the eldest of all. She is a leader, a good dancer and is overall graceful.
2. Dom, the Bomb has great strength & power. He also has a compassionate heart.
3. Mire, the Soul is a free spirit who loves nature.
4. Vinny, the Shark is super fast in and out of water and intelligent.
5. Daniella, the Lala is the youngest. She is cute and adorable.

Together they form a perfect team.

The story teaches us the values of courage, perseverance, teamwork and also families who stick together can accomplish anything.

Stories for young children have to be feel-good. This is taken care of by the presence of the guardian spirit of the forest who is constantly protecting the frogs from danger though they are themselves brave to face and fight the enemies and circumstances.

Dhruv’s favourite part was when the frogs’ friend, a dog who lived nearby, came to their rescue aiding them in covering the last stretch of their unknown path. Why? Because he loves dogs.

Illustrations –

Illustrations deserve a special mention for this book. With bold strokes using colour pencils, they are highly appealing to the sight. Well, Dhruv and I had a minor debate regarding the medium used for bold strokes. While I said colour pencils, he said the black colour is charcoal. A mail communication with the publicist who quoted the illustrator put a rest to our debate. The best picture is of the Biscuit Bay. It is beautiful and it has pink.

Sneak peak into the book (2) – Isn’t it beautiful?

My concerns – 

There are printing mistakes at two places in the book with the ending letter missing in the words.

The ending of the story did not work for me and this could be since I approached it with an adult’s mind. I cannot see a co-relation between frogs and biscuits. However, Dhruv gives an allowance stating the book is a work of fiction and anything can happen in a fictional story and children love biscuits.

My verdict – 

The story is fun and a long one.

It is suitable for fluent readers above the age of 7. The detailed character sketches can be helpful in understanding character development when it comes to writing practice.

For the younger children less than 7, the charming illustrations can be used to make a shorter version of the story or the book can be used as read-aloud.

Author – Tommy Piolata

Illustrator – David Cuccia

Release Year – First published in August 2018

Age group – 5+ years

Available on – Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon India

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I received a free copy of this book from the author’s publicist in exchange for an honest review.

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