Customer Reviews

Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is fantastic. It parodies some of the best management and self-help books on the market today, yet still gives very useful information. If you are, or ever were a fan of the Muppets (which everyone should be!), then I highly recommend this book.

Yes, I said teens, and adults, too! This is NOT a children's book, and the wisdom and tips herein are priceless. We are the people who grew up with Kermit, who trust him, love him, and patiently wait for him to either dump the pig or marry her.
The photos are superlative, the sagest bits are given in very funny "sketches," and the author himself is so endearing.
BUY IT! You won't be sorry.

I don't usually read this kind of book, but I decided to pick up Kermit's masterpiece in motivation and I have not regretted doing so. This delightful book is all about ridiculous optimism. Yes, you heard me right -- ridiculous optimism.

Quoting Kermit: If this book can drive you - and those around you - crazy with ridiculous optimism, then it has done its job. Who knows, maybe by reading these lessons from my life, you'll be inspired to drop your tail, leave your swamp, and set out on a journey that's just as amazing and wonderful as mine.

'Before You Leap' carries two parts. Part 1 is about his life: life of having over 2,353 family members; how he grew up from a little tadpole, then attending school, and then getting his legs; his search for significance and fame; how he got into showbiz and thereafter forming his own team of superstar performers; and his exciting relationship with the amorous Miss Piggy. Part 1 is rather hilarious.

Part 2 gets on to the more serious stuff for its readers. It's now lessons for your life and carries 14 croak-licious chapters. Serious though it may be, it still contains oodles of humor. Kermit interviewed his muppet gang on issues like money, strategies for work, strategies for school, exploring why bad things happen to everyone even to good frogs, and many more. There are lots of Kermit-tips too.

Are you ready for such an experience, an experience of ridiculous optimism? If you are, you so must read this book. Do it with an open mind and an open heart.

And if all of these are not enough, the photos of Kermit and gang will make your day. He is indeed a frog of many expressions. The pictures are simply marvelous and each one truly inspires me. He's close to being a perfect model and so are his muppet buddies!

As a lifelong Muppets fan who is now a busy graduate student and mother of four, this is just what I needed. Kermit's wit and wisdom provide guidance, insight, and a good chuckle for me every time I open the book.

If you are a muppet lover or don't even know who the heck they are you should still read this book. It is a great advice giving book. It also comes with the hilarity that comes naturally from the muppets. It shares all the great life leesons that come to us in no other way. The muppets make everything more interesting. You should definently put this book on your reading list!

I was so excited when I found the book. It is SOOOOO funny, I love his comments about Mom the Frog and Dad the Frog. It is a must have for all ages. I gave it to three people for Christmas!!!!! Thank God for Kermit the Frog and the Muppets;oP

This is a charmer of a book directed primarily to those with fond recollections of The Muppet Show and to a lesser degree, Sesame Street. Kermit the Frog is given full credit for the authorship since it is his perspective we are reading, but the anonymous creators have taken a creative approach by having the first third of the book dedicated to Kermit's life story and legendary successes and the remainder a motivational self-help tome along the lines of Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. Both parts are amusing, though I have to admit I like the memoir portion a bit more since the personal history includes a nice tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson and lots of pictures of the memorable sketches from The Muppet Show and follow-up movies. Born in a swamp as one of 2,353 tadpole progeny in a single family, Kermit harbored show business dreams at an early age. He didn't let his non-human standing get in the way of getting an honorary doctorate or being a substitute host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

In fact, he embraces his inner amphibian so much that he shares his fourteen lessons in leading a fulfilling life. Provocative chapter titles include "The Seven Dreams of Highly Effective Amphibians", "When Bad Things Happen to Good Frogs", "It's Not Easy Eating Greens", "Finding Your Inner Tadpole" and "Moving Your Own Cheese". My favorite piece is "Fridays with Fozzie", a humorous send-up of Mitch Albom's best-seller Tuesdays with Morrie, in which Kermit and his best friend Fozzie the Bear provide validation for one another on their journey toward self-discovery. The other significant Muppets show up, including of course, Miss Piggy, the subject of a Dr. Phil-type chapter, "Love Amphibian Style", on how to keep the romance alive. As you can surmise, this book is really geared for adults more than children, and yet the coffee-table format, large-font type and pleasing graphics are certain to arouse interest at any age. After all, it is written by a frog, and so typical of Kermit, his post script on the last page states, "Hi there! This is the end of the book. You can put it down now." He is lovably helpful to the end.

I don't know who really wrote this book because I don't think the writer takes any credit for it, but that's just another thing that blew me away about this book. I mean, the frog's right about almost everything. Some of the best advice and/or quotes I've ever heard seem to be in this book as well as other things I really needed to hear recently. I was pondering saying something like "it's so odd that the best self-improvement book out there was written by a frog" but then I realized that, nah, there's nothing odd about that at all.

I bought this as a gift for my husband. He is thoroughly enjoying it and laughs often when reading Before You Leap. He enjoys sharing with me tidbits and quotes from this enjoyable book.

I purchased six copies of this book for Christmas presents for people ages 18 to 62. They all loved it! It is clever, witty, and yet there are some underlying truths that make you think. Interspersed with things like Mom's recipe for "fly-shoe pie" (one ingredient is a pinch of fungus) are insights that apply to us all ("as the years go by, you begin to understand just how precious those tadpole days are and how quickly they pass"). Its goal is to "drive you crazy" with "ridiculous optimism." It also seeks to inspire its readers to "drop your tail, leave your swamp, and set out on a journey" that's amazing! I think it accomplishes all of this. Any Kermit fan will adore this book!