Bullfrog Pops! [Paperback]

Rick Walton (Author), Chris McAllister (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2005

Last seen hopping a stage . . . (coach) and finding his hop in Once There was a Bull . . . (frog), our hero is now on an eye-popping eating binge trying to cure his insatiable appetite. Woven through the western town of Ravenous Gulch, the story leaves a cast of many hopping mad. However, just as things look bleak, transitive and intransitive verbs turn the tables and take Bullfrog on another adventure. Bullfrog Pops! is part of Rick Walton's tremendously successful Language Arts series.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A hungry amphibian eats his way through Ravenous Gulch and is pursued by all of the townspeople. Walton creates suspense by a clever use of vocabulary and layout. Most double-page spreads end with a verb in bold print that changes its meaning on the following page. For example, readers would expect the frog to have fled the scene after reading, "Bullfrog dashed-," but the completion of the sentence on the following page-"-the watermelon to the ground" proves differently. Illustrations are contained within bright, bold, desert-hued squares surrounded by white margins. The comical Bullfrog is seen running off with a large watermelon and again as he is cornered against an apple tree trunk. Typeface for the text is made up of unusual curlicues on most every letter with an uneven baseline that could make reading difficult for new readers but adds to the sense of rapid movement through the story. Supplemental fare.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Some amusing plays on words, and a keen device for keeping little hands turning pages doesn't quite succeed in this picture book from Walton (So Many Bunnies, 1998, etc.). Bullfrog heads for Ravenous Gulch, and he sure is hungry when he gets there. He swipes a pizza from Starvin' Marvin, picks a watermelon, steals bread from a bakery, takes apples from a tree, and finally ends up in Ravenous Gulch's Fine Groceries, Fine Dining, and Fine Art Emporium where he eats everything in sight with such enthusiasm that he knocks the pictures from the walls. Bullfrog finds salvation, though, when the townsfolk realize they have a contender for the County Super Eater Contest. Most pages end with a word in boldface; its meaning changes with the turn of the page, e.g., the bullfrog ``bolts'' on one page, implying that he's hopping away, but the next page reveals that what he bolts is ``the door shut.'' The action appears on square paintings offset by white borders and full of skewed perspectives. The images combined with the squiggly, hard-to-decipher typeface will make this hard on newer readers, but they might appreciate the language: ``Stop eatin' my apples, you canyon-mouthed fruit catcher!'' (Picture book. 6-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (August 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586858408
• ISBN-13: 978-1586858407
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.7 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Humor > Cats, Dogs & Animals
  • #90 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Frogs & Toads

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jump at the opportunity to read this book aloud!, October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bullfrog Pops! (Hardcover)

I am a children's storyteller, at my last reading, the children chose this book because of the front cover, and loved it all the way through the back cover. The Illustrations command a smile, and the story is great to perform (imitate a bullfrog if you can, kids love it!) this is my favorite of Rick Walton's books. The story has a wonderful chase atmosphere, a 'froggy' version of the "Gingerbread Man." The kids loved the names the Bullfrog was being called as he was gobbling up everything in site: 'Pickle-Skinned Pizza Theif,' 'Canyon-Mouthed Fruit Catcher,' 'Loaf-Liftin Cousin to a Grasshopper.' I read a lot of stories to children...this one was a joy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun reading with surprises throughout, August 3, 2004

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bullfrog Pops! (Hardcover)

What happens when one very hungry frog comes to town and starts eating everything he can? From pizza, to watermelon, to bread and anything else he finds, nothing is safe. A fun story with well-done illustrations, it is sure to be popular with all children. One of the things that make this title unique is the way the author ends the page with a partial sentence purposely designed to mislead the reader until they turn the page and read the rest of the sentence. For example one page ends with, "Bullfrog was surrounded. He began to shake..." The following page begins with "... the tree. Down fell the apples." This anticipation and leading off onto the wrong track makes the book even more fun to read. "Bullfrog Pops!" is a highly recommended children's book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An original and highly recommended little tale!, May 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bullfrog Pops! (Hardcover)

Living in the old western town of Ravenous Gulch, Bullfrog gets hungry (very, very hungry!) and goest on an eating binge that leaves a lot of people very upset with him! As Bullfrog's appetite and waistline expand he makes a mess of the town. The townsfolk call upon the sheriff who decides to take matters in hand. Chris McAllister's artwork is a perfect complement to each page in Rick Walton's novel and highly recommended little tale, and the pages end as a cliff hangers with a radically different meaning shown on the next page.