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Mr. Froggy's dilemma

The children in my life inspired this true story about "Mr. Froggy's dilemma." It begun as a long adventure letter to my grandchildren about a large, rare bullfrog that the our West Highland Terrier, Missy, eagerly chased into the swimming pool.

The adventure morphed into a book as a result of encouragement from acquaintances. As young readers will discover, there are multiple "dilemmas" in the story. The explicit ones range from how will the frog escape the pool? Once it escapes, where does it go? What incentive does the frog need to pursue a new life and adventure? And, then there is the dilemma of climate change.

Some implicit dilemmas that might surface in a discussion with a child include acceptance, discrimination over physical differences, bullying, fear of change, and taking chances to expand horizons.

The book introduces the young reader (ages 8 t0 11) to a few scientific terms, asks the child to do a little research, and engages the child in coming up with solutions. These solutions even introduce the concepts of chapter titles. Why they are important. And, how they help a child organize and write her or his own stories. The book also deliberately challenges and broadens vocabulary.

Twelve early readers volunteered shout outs from Toronto, Boston, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Miami, St.Louis, Houston, The Woodlands, San Diego, and San Francisco. Here is one of them:

"We love Mr. Froggy's dilemma!" We love how accessible it is to our kids who love nature and how it inspires them to observe nature---not to miss an opportunity to spot a Mr. Froggy! We also love how interactive the book is, promoting learning and early research skills." Daria, Boston, MA