THE MOUSE & THE FROG

A mouse and frog learn that cooperating is more fun than arguing over who’s best in Smit’s illustrated children’s book.

This lively narrative opens with a dialogue between Mouse and Frog, with each describing the qualities that make one better than the other, while also imparting some fun facts about each animal. Frog notes, for example, that he can “see all around in the darkness of night” while Mouse says that she can hear “the softest of sounds.” Soon, Mouse decides that “learning from others can help us to grow,” and the pair quickly become friends. They realize that each can use their skills to help the other, and that the reader should “love who you are cause there’s only one you!” The format of Smit’s book changes partway through, which may cause young readers to stumble a bit; for the first half, Mouse and Frog take turns talking, and then halfway through, a third-person narrator comes into play. Still, the story’s simple lesson of cooperation and self-acceptance is a worthy one. The brevity and simplicity of the text will encourage new readers. However, the rhymes occasionally feel a bit forced: “It’s a fun froggy trick, / a great trick you should note: / I can use both my eyes / to push food down my throat!” The book’s greatest strength is Caron’s watercolor art, which has a cheerful lightness and brightness that imbues Mouse and Frog with lively character. Audiences young and old will enjoy lingering over the images’ details, and because each illustration is surrounded by plenty of white space, the eye is immediately drawn to the pictures first and text second. Although the animals are anthropomorphized—for example, both sport rosy cheeks—they’re otherwise delightfully realistic in their portrayals.

Charming images enliven occasionally stilted text in a book that imparts a useful life lesson.