WHERE ARE YOU, LITTLE FROG?

Can the frog (and the reader) deduce its location by the immediate surroundings? Each bold two-page spread is concisely described in a sentence (which forms a couplet with its partner on the next spread), and then asks, “Can you guess where you are, little frog?” There’s a cat chasing a mouse, a dog guarding sheep, a straw-filled coop, a beautiful white horse standing tall, a cow eating grass and hay, etc. The last illustration shows every animal, person and building together “on a farm!” Arzoumanian’s bright colors leap off the page, and his animals are made of big blocky shapes, almost as if drawn by a child, a good match both for the text and book’s target age group. Rhatigan’s first book (she’s 11) is simple, crisp, and attractive, a nice guessing (and learning) game for pre-readers—though any child who’s ever been read a farm book before may get a little sick of shouting out, “On a farm!” with each page turn while waiting for the final payoff. (Picture book. 1-3)