Customer Reviews

City Dog, Country Frog

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Several months ago when I saw the listing for City Dog, Country Frog the first thing I noticed was the teaming of dynamic duo Jon Muth (of Zen Shorts (Collector's Edition) (Zen) fame) and Mo Willems (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, etc.). I immediately pre-ordered it. I knew almost nothing about it - other than it would likely feature a dog and a frog, but seeing how much my two and a half year old son enjoys Muth and Willems, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

City Dog, Country Frog is a very nice book. I'll be brief... Muth's illustrations are simply incredible. What a delight. The story by Willems isn't quite as smartly original as Pigeon or Naked Mole Rat; it's a very simple story. But it's simplicity is also it's charm. And I was surprised by how heartfelt the ending would be. My son wanted to read it again immediately after we first read it, and I imagine it will be a favorite in the reading rotation for some time to come.

It is so nice to read children's book that the parents can also enjoy.

City Dog ran like the wind across the field in front of the old farmhouse until he saw something very unusual sitting on a rock. Very soon he had met the acquaintance of Country Frog perched on a rock. He sat right down next to him on a rock peering into his big googly eyes. His tail was wagging when he asked what Country Frog was up to. "Waiting for a friend." There wasn't anyone in sight, but the smiling frog replied, "But you'll do." Spring had begun and they played games and cavorted around. Of course Country Frog's games were things like "jumping and splashing and croaking." City Dog even let Country Frog sit on his head as he dog paddled through the water.

Summer arrived and they played new games, games that City Dog knew how to play like fetch. He taught Country Frog how to sniff and bark too. They played and played and played until fall arrived. The leaves had changed color and began to drift to the ground with their splash of color. Frog was getting tired and wanted to play "remember-ing games." Frog sat on his snout as they began to remember. Later City Dog and Country Frog sat on the rock and remembered how much fun they had. Winter arrived, but when City Dog raced through the snow to see his friend at their rock he was nowhere to be found. Where had he gone? Perhaps he would see him when spring rolled around again.

This beautiful, heartwarming story about friendship will charm both children and adults alike. Every child eventually creates a friendship with someone special in their life and this unlikely, but joyful friendship, will bring a smile to those who have created them. The gorgeous watercolors create that special aura of the excitement and special moments that only close friends share. There also, unfortunately, is sadness of the loss of a friend, but the possibility of a new one. This is a very special book that city folk, country folk, and all kind of friends will be able to embrace and relate to!

I chose this book to review for a graduate course in Children's Literature, and I found myself unable to stop crying as I turned the pages. At first, the story reminded me of the traditional Fox and the Hound tale: unlikely friends from very different backgrounds whose relationship is doomed to change. However, this story goes above and beyond the premise, mostly due to Jon Muth's soft watercolor illustrations and the designer's savvy placing of some of the most symbolic statements ("That was winter.") alone on a page so that the reader can soak up their intensity. I sobbed uncontrollably at one point, both for the loss of one of the characters and for the final, bittersweet message that friends are never really gone if we remember them. Love, love, love this story and its accompanying art. Recommended age: pre K through first grade, but the adults who read it with the children with cherish it too.

I just bought this book and sadly I will be returning it. The illustrations are wonderful - beautiful watercolors with each season conveying a different mood in colors. However, the story is lacking. The story starts off good enough with the Frog and Dog becoming friends. Come Fall it appears that the Frog is winding down and getting tired. Then its Winter and the Dog looks for the Frog to no avail. The last picture of Winter is beautiful with the Dog alone in the snow, just a small figure in a huge, grey, winter background. Then Spring comes again and the Dog cannot find the Frog. The reader suspects the Frog has passed . . . But this is where the story loses me. The Dog then sees another animal. The animal asks "what are you doing?" The Dog replies sadly "waiting for a friend." Then he says "but you will do" and has a new friend. The "you will do" is the same phrase the Frog uses when he became friends with the Dog. For me the story teaches the wrong lesson - that our friends are replaceable. There's no loyalty. Its a sort of 'well, lets move on.' Others can disagree but the book left me sad but in a disappointed way. There was a wonderful opportunity after Winter to do something meatier or smarter with the ending. Instead it seemed too simple and flat. Hey, I'm still a Mo Willems fan (go Knuffle Bunnies!) but not of this book.

This is a wonderful book. I'm a sucker for the emotional richness of Muth's artwork, and it gives the simple story the breadth that it needs to allow children (and parents) to discover a wealth of ripples there. Among the themes present (which not all reviewers seem to have given credence):

1. Very different people can be friends.
2. In the process of being friends, they teach each other about their different worlds, and maybe even create a new one together.
3. People that we love sometimes leave us (and it's nice here that we don't overtly know whether the frog died, hibernated, or moved on, because loved ones leave in a wide variety of ways that may have nothing to do with us). It's also nice that they do the remembering part in the fall, as this will resonate with how many young people interact with their elderly relatives.
4. We miss the people who we've lost, but they leave their imprint on us (that froggy grin).
5. Life goes on. I totally disagree with those who think that this means that the message is "friends are disposable" -- quite the opposite, dog spends a whole season in mourning, and is still sad when spring arrives. But then he takes what he learned from frog and applies it to the trip back to point 1, making a new friend with the possibility of new discoveries.

Anyway, none of this stuff hits you over the head, but all the sensations are there in the delicate lighting of the watercolors. My 2.5-year-old and I have enjoyed reading it very much, and I expect that we will enjoy it in ever-changing ways as she gets older. That's a rarity.

This feels like a collaboration of two great artists, like when Yoyo Ma does albums with Indian tabla players and the like -- they each recognized the power of what the other was doing, and imagined that a combination might allow good things to happen. I have no idea whether that's actually how this book came to be, but I hope so -- it certainly worked!!

I was hoping for a nice book to read with my daughters, nothing more. As we were turning the pages I started to suspect we were in the midst of something special. When we got to the scene where the dog was waiting for the frog who couldn't be there my four-year-old wanted to know why I was staring at the page for so long. Ok, she said, frog's not there - read the next page. We finished the book, and after a moment's reflection she asked me why the frog didn't come. I really almost lost it.

Wholeheartedly recommended. One of finest meditations on life, aging, and death I have ever encountered.

I bought this book after reading the review in the NYT. I probably would have bought it no matter what because I love Muth's books (Zen Shorts, Zen Ties, and The Three Questions are among our favorites). But it ended up a serendipitous choice for my five-year-old son as our elderly dog had just died and we had just gotten a new puppy. So the idea of missing and remembering old friends while treasuring new friends was perfectly a propos. The story runs deep and deals with death and loss but is told with a light, airy, simple touch that in no way brushes past the impact of our emotions about such changes. Muth's watercolors are lovely as ever. A wonderful book.

What joy the city dog and the country frog share as they teach the other to play their games! Separated by the seasons as the city dog visits in the country this book could lead to interesting discussions. The importance of making new friends and sharing differences abound in this short tale. And what interesting stories might be the result of the city dog's new friend at the end of the book. A simple read with life's true meaning.

Ostensibly a book about friendship and the seasons, as City Dog and Country Frog play and share throughout the spring, summer and autumn; the story takes a sudden, although not entirely unexpected turn towards loss. On City Dog's first day in the country, he encounters Country Frog sitting on a rock, "Waiting for a friend... but you'll do." In the spring, they play frog games. In the summer, dog games. In the fall, they reminisce about what a good spring and summer they've had. When City Dog excitedly runs out to Country Frog's rock during winter, "City Dog looked for Country Frog./Country Frog was not there." What follows is a gorgeous two-page wordless watercolor spread of City Dog sitting forlornly atop the rock, gazing out towards the leafless branches of the nearby wood. "That was winter." Devastating! This is so beautiful, so well-done and it's so spare. You know that Country Frog isn't coming back. He's gone.

In the following spring, a still sad City Dog is sitting by the rock, when he encounters Country Chipmunk. The story comes full circle when City Dog tells Chipmunk that he's "waiting for a friend" and after smiling "a froggy smile" he tells Chipmunk, "But you'll do."

Stunning watercolor illustrations and sensitive handling of a difficult topic earn this book my highest recommendation for ages 4-8.

A nice story about friendship, how life goes on,& it's beautifully illustrated. My grand-kids like it.