Once Upon A Lily Pad: Froggy Love in Monet's Garden (Hardcover)

by Joan Sweeney (Author), Kathleen Fain (Illustrator) "On the day Hector and Henriette were married, the water garden never looked lovelier..." (more)
Key Phrases: old painter, Monsieur Crow

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Living among the water lilies of Monet's country home, frogs Hector and Henriette and their tadpoles happily "pose" for the bearded artist who paints their pond each day. First-time author Sweeny sets up a rivalry between the frogs and a "Monsieur Crow" who thinks that it is he who is being immortalized on canvas; the crow is finally disillusioned one day when he "swooped down and began snapping up tadpoles in his sharp pointed bill.... All at once the old painter sent a stone flying across the pond." In spite of such ecodrama, however, this tale proves anticlimactic; it simply tapers off when "one spring, the old painter did not appear." Fain's (Handsigns) pointillistic paintings capture neither the spirit nor the subtleties of impressionism (compare Bijou le Tord's radiant A Blue Butterfly, also set in Giverny; Children's Forecasts, Sept. 18). Fain's stippled illustrations offer a sharp focus on the famous pond, which is depicted in a tart fuchsia-and-aqua palette. Readers can sample Monet's own take on his pond via a three-page gatefold reproduction of a 1920-1921 painting from the Water Lilies series. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Hector and Henriette, two of the most fashionable frogs in all of France, assume that the old man who comes to their pond is painting their portraits. They pose patiently until Monsieur Crow announces that the artist is in fact painting HIS portrait. Soon, with a growing family of tadpoles, the frogs have better things to think about, but they notice that the man comes back every spring for several years. In the years that follow, they tell their children and grandchildren how they posed for an old painter in a straw hat. This whimsical story with stylized colored-pencil drawings could serve well as support material for beginning art-appreciation endeavors. The book includes a facsimile of Monet's signature and a three-page gatefold reproduction of one of his water lily paintings. Other, more thorough treatments for a young audience include Christina Bjork's Linnea in Monet's Garden (Farrar, 1987), Bijou Le Tord's A Blue Butterfly (Doubleday, 1995), and Mike Venezia's Monet (Childrens, 1990).?Linda Wicher, Highland Park Public Library, IL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811808688
• ISBN-13: 978-0811808682
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,356,237 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Once Upon a Lily Pad, November 26, 1999

By A Customer

My kids were interested and entertained by this book. They loved the illustrations and it gave them a great introduction to the art of Claude Monet.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I now pronounce you frog and wife.", September 14, 2005

By	Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Once Upon a Lily Pad: Froggy Love in Monet's Garden (Hardcover)

This charming little book introduces the fabulous work of painter Claude Monet, of the French Impressionists, in the guise of a love story between two small frogs who inhabit the lily pond Monet so famously painted in canvas after canvas. Hector and Henriette are married, living amid the splendor of Monet's watery garden. But they have assumed that they are the models for the old man in the straw hat that comes near every day and sets up his easel for hours of work. They don't mind posing, not really, but eventually get bored. Their complaints are rudely interrupted by a crow, who inserts himself into the conversation to announce that it is he, not the frogs that the old man is painting. Of course, the frogs find such an idea outrageous and make no bones about telling the crow what they think of his pretensions.

Before the matter can be settled, the crow flies down and snatches up the newly born tadpoles, shocking the frogs into silence. But the old painter sees this and quickly throws a stone at the crow, freeing the tadpoles and settling the question once and for all. Thankful for the respite for their small, but growing family, the frogs are content once more to pose for the painter. They do so for many years, until, one year the old man doesn't return and they realize this blissful time in their lives has ended.

The illustrations by Kathleen Fain are delightful, as the frogs prop themselves on lily pads, hopping from page to page and hopefully painting to painting. In colors as vivid as the Impressionists, it is possible to imagine a frog or two tucked among the petals or peeking through the greenery. At the end of the story is a gatefold of Monet's Water Lilies, to give the young reader a sample of the master's work. This small, bright volume is a perfect introduction to the world of art, Monet's canvases full of the energy and passion of the Impressionist School. Framed in a silly story of two happy frogs and their tadpoles, children can learn about a wonderful artist who never tired of his garden and the variety it offered to his palette. Luan Gaines/2005.