Frogs (WorldLife Library Series) [Paperback]

David Badger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Worldlife Library

Frogs have long played a role in tales of legend and lore--symbolizing fertility, omens, impending rain, and more. "Frogs" is an introduction to the world’s most fascinating frogs and toads, including detailed coverage of frog characteristics, their life cycle, musical repertoires, and conservation issues. David Badger’s entertaining text and John Netherton’s brilliant, up-close photographs bring these fascinating creatures to life as you’ve never seen them.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Journalism professor Badger and nature photographer Netherton teamed up to create this well-deserved tribute to frogs and toads. Badger relies on scientific writings and older natural history publications for much of his information as he confesses his own lack of amphibian expertise. Frogs is not a field guide but rather a nontechnical book that spotlights a few dozen colorful, interesting, and unique frogs and toads from among the 4000 or so known species worldwide. About half the creatures picked for this volume can be found in parts of North America. In addition to the species descriptions, there are lively and interesting chapters on frogs in popular culture, their physical characteristics and behavior, and environmental challenges. The many striking photographs capture a variety of shapes and colors, from the common drab and dumpy American toad to the brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and blacks of exotic dart-poison frogs from Central and South America. Recommended for public and high school libraries.?William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"WorldLife Library series titles are notable for their spectacular full-color photography and commitment to environmental awareness and conservation. Including reading lists, these titles are recommended for their depth of information;

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Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896584569
• ISBN-13: 978-0896584563
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,020,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Frogs, April 23, 2000

By 

K Susan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frogs (Paperback)

Tired of seeing the same photographs in older books ? Try this book, you will not be disappointed with the spectacular original color photographs by well known nature photographer John Netherton. Accompanying text gives general description of frog sizes, habitats, mating habits and distributions. This book is a definite must for any nature lover for its photos alone.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Over fifty frogs selected for their unusual qualities, March 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frogs (Hardcover)

If frogs are the attraction, don't miss natural history writer David Badger's Frogs, which profiles over fifty frogs selected for their unusual qualities. There are over 3,950 species in the world, so it's unlikely even the most avid frog fan will have seen many of these fascinating photos. But Frogs isn't just a coffee table picture book; it pairs photos by John Neterton with David Badger's non-technical facts and observations, making for an outstanding result.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amphibians take center stage, February 9, 2008

By 

Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frogs (Hardcover)

This book, the first of what would be three collaborations between writer David Badger and photographer John Netherton, puts a well-deserved spotlight on the amazing frogs and toads of the world. Although lizards are my own favorite herps, I also really like frogs and toads. And since they're the most visible and well-known of the amphibian part of the herp world, it seems like they're most people's favorite amphibians by default. The photographs in the book are so beautiful, going beyond just another book of frog and toad photos. The animals are captured at various angles, in various lighting, in various locales, and even struggling against nature, as in the picture of the poor greenhouse frog trying to extricate itself from a Venus flytrap. Mr. Badger discusses subjects such as reproduction, diet, the need to save amphibian populations, the potential medical breakthroughs they're hiding in their bodies (a number of frogs and toads secrete a veritable medicine chest), frog photography, humanity's relationship to the frog, the growing popularity of the frog in recent years, hearing, vocalisation, hibernation, and locomotion. He also provides short but sweet information on the various species profiled, along with maps showing where they live.

Among the frogs and toads photographed are the dart-poison frog, cane toad, glass large-eyed frog, White's tree frog, Chinese microhylid, pygmy banana frog, Pacman frog (the Argentine horned frog), red-eyed tree frog, barking tree frog, pickerel frog, Fowler's toad, Oriental fire-bellied toad, Eastern spadefoot toad, Surinam toad (one of the most interesting specimens in the book, to say the least), harlequin frog, and red-banded crevice creeper. Most of the frogs and toads I had been familiar with previously were the domesticated ones I'd read about in books on pet herps, so learning about and seeing pictures of all of these non-pet species was a real treat. A lot of times each picture seemed to be better and cuter than the last. It's a perfect book for someone who's already interested in herps, or someone who just wants a better understanding and appreciation of frogs and toads.