A Place For Frogs
By Melissa Stewart
Illustrated by Higgins Bond
Peachtree, 2010
ISBN #978-1-56145-521-8
Grades 2-5
Nonfiction picture book
“Frogs make our world a better place. But sometimes people do things that make it hard for them to live and grown. If we work together to help these special creatures, there will always be a place for frogs.”
This book is the third in a series of A Place For books from Peachtree Publishers. Short, narrative text describes the general topic along the top of the spread and inset sidebars cite a specific example to support the text. Another inset picture illustrates the frog in the example. The book describes the interactions of humans, other animals, and frogs and the resulting, harmful effects on the frogs and their habitat. Suggestions for making changes follow the frog descriptions.
Specific ways children can make a difference in keeping the natural environment safe for frogs is included in the back, along with frog facts, a bibliography, and websites for more information. The realistically rendered artwork by Bond depicts in beautiful detail the environment and the different frogs in their natural habitat colors. Kids should have fun poring over the frogs in this book while teachers and librarians can coordinate it with a lesson on life cycles, the environment, and habitats.
Activity 1
Draw and illustrate the life cycle of a frog.
Activity 2
Create a food chain that includes the frog, tadpole, or frog eggs. Use the information from the book (spread with Other Animals Need Frogs) or look up more information about what frogs eat and expand the food chain to a food web.
Activity 3
Research toads. Look for information about their habitats and environmental problems they may have. Write your own frog page in the style of this book.
Here’s good information with more details.
Life cycle information about frogs
Label the life cycle
Higher level frog food chain activity—reminds me of the project Wild activity Oh Deer!
Older students may want to read The Frog Scientist by Pamela Turner. See my blog post on The Frog Scientist.
National Science Standards: life cycle, organisms in environment
Book provided by publisher to Librarian’s Choices Committee
