Monday, May 12, 2008

The Green Frogs

In honor of Mothers Day being just yesterday, (hope it was a good one for everybody!) I thought it would be a perfect time to share one of my all time favorite books, The Green Frogs, which is a delightful Korean folktale, retold and exquisitely illustrated by Yumi Heo and published by the Houghton Mifflin Company.


"The Green Frogs" tells the tale of a mother frog and her two sons, who always do the opposite of which she asks of them. It also deals with the death of mother frog, in a rather unusual way for a children's book, (but necessary for the story). So if you're an uptight adult, you may have a problem with it being a children's book. (The same way that many adults were afraid that children would be adversely affected by Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are", and I have yet to meet a kid that didn't love that book!) If you aren't uptight, then I highly recommend it, whether you have kids or not! The best part of the book are Yumi Heo's illustrations, done in oil and pencil, which are rich in tiny layered details and joyful patterns. I could look at these illustrations for hours, (and I have) and still continue to find something new.

8 comments:

High Desert Diva said...

Looks like a fun book

Anonymous said...

Oooh, what gorgeous illustrations! Biggest criteria for me in selecting children's books.

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

I'm not uptight, but I am a wuss... I will probably cry when the mommy frog dies :( How sad is that??!

I'll try to see if I can view this somewhere. I have many children books in my personal collection.

Mrs.French said...

looks as if I may add this one to the library.

Karen said...

Hi Victoria. I find it really hard to believe that you ever had a problem using colour! Your work now is so vibrant. I too love illustration, oh how I wish I was talented with a pencil!

Anonymous said...

What great illustrations! :)

Anonymous said...

Very pretty illustrations and color! I would love to read it! Thanks for the tip! ;)

Hey Harriet said...

Well I may need to track down a copy of this book because I love green frogs. & cute illustrated green frogs sounds too good to pass up!