FROG IN WINTER
by Max Velthuijs & illustrated by Max Velthuijs
The appealingly naive frog-person who debuted in Frog in Love (1989) is astonished, one morning, to find the world white and the river frozen (```I won't be able to wash,' he thought, shocked''). Though Duck tries to teach him to skate and Hare lauds the virtues of jogging, Frog continues to shiver (```I'm freezing, I'm only a bare frog,' he murmured''). Still, his sympathetic friends build Frog a fire, tuck him into bed, and ply him with hot soup; and he does make it through to spring. The simple, gracefully told story is nicely extended in the award- winning Dutch artist's beautifully designed compositions featuring characters that, like Lobel's Frog and Toad, exude amiability; they're set in spare landscapes that reveal winter's beauty with unusual skill. A charming model of friendly accommodation to differences, fine for group sharing or independent reading. (Picture book. 3-7)