Foo, the Flying Frog of Washtub Pond [Hardcover]

Belle Yang (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

For kids of all sizes (and boasting ability), a funny fable about growing pains, the ups and downs of friendship, and the gift of forgiveness.

In a cozy, tropical place called Washtub Pond, three web-footed creatures pass carefree days playing and dreaming together. Sue-Lin Salamander, Mao-Mao Mudpuppy, and Foo Frog have been best, samesize friends since the day they were born. But like all young creatures, these three grow up — and some really BIG changes in Foo Frog put the trio’s friendship to the test. With warmth, lighthearted wit, and a bit of hot air, Belle Yang has written and painted a laugh-out-loud story in bold, comedic strokes.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—On the banks of Washtub Pond, Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander, and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy live as friends the same size until Foo starts growing. Unfortunately, his ego grows as well, and soon he is convinced that he is the biggest animal in the world. When his friends try to tell him about the enormous elephant they saw, he puffs himself up to prove his size and floats away. Encounters with a heron, a huge fish, a sea turtle, and the elephant literally let the hot air out of Foo until, ego deflated, he returns to his friends. They agree that he is the "perfect size…for a frog" and "the perfect size for a friend." This variation on a common folktale theme is endearing for its focus on the emotions and relationships of the characters. Yang lends a distinctly Chinese feel to the story through onomatopoeic phrases that will be unfamiliar to many Western readers ("shuuuuuu" as hot air whistles out of the frog, "peiii!" as a turtle spits him out), and through the bright, folk-flat feeling of her gouache illustrations.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
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From Booklist

The silly title sets the scene for this funny fable of Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander, and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy, who all began life on the same day in Washtub Pond. All is well until Foo grows bigger, always winning at tug-of-war and lily-pad wrestling. Not only is Foo’s body growing, but so is his head. “I must be the biggest animal in the whole wide world,“ he boasts. But when his friends observe an elephant at the pond and described it to Foo, the frog sucks in so much air that a puff of wind lifts him and carries him over farms, rice paddies, and animals—all of which appear small from above. His airborne superiority is quickly quelled by a great white heron, a fish, and a giant sea turtle. Finally back on land, he realizes that he is a small frog in a big world, but the perfect size for being friends. Gouache illustrations made up of buoyant, spontaneous, and comedic strokes match the exaggeration of this foolish frog. Grades K-2. --Julie Cummins

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Library Binding edition (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763636150
• ISBN-13: 978-0763636159
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.4 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,993,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Belle Yang, subject of the PBS documentary, 'My Name is Belle,' is frequently asked whether she is primarily a writer or a painter. Answer: "When I'm writing, I'm a writer; when I'm painting, I'm a painter." She is also asked whether she is a children's author or of adult books. Answer: "I write for children, adults and everyone in between. Now I am also a graphic novelist."

Born in Taiwan, Belle Yang spent part of her childhood in Japan. At age seven she immigrated to the United States with her family. She attended Stirling University in Scotland, graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in biology but went on to study art at Pasadena Art Center College of Design and the Beijing Institute of Traditional Chinese Painting.

She worked and traveled in China for three years and returned to the United States late in 1989 after the Tiananmen Massacre.

She returned with gratitude in her heart for the freedom of expression given her in America, certain she would firmly grasp this gift with both hands.

Illustrated, adult nonfiction:

Baba: A Return to China Upon My Father's Shoulders, 1994 Harcourt Brace

The Odyssey of a Manchurian, 1996 Harcourt Brace


Picture books:

Hannah Is My Name, 2004 Candlewick Press

Always Come Home to Me, 2007 Candlewick Press. Awarded Chinese American Librarian Association Best Picture Book of 2008

Chili-Chili-Chin-Chin, 1999 Harcourt Brace
Upcoming Works

Upcoming works:

A graphic with WW Norton. "Forget Sorrow: A China Elegy"

"Foo the Flying Frog of Washtub Pond," Candlewick Press