Holly Hobbie
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Little Brown, 2012, 978-0-316-20334-0
Gram is experiencing
a particularly cold winter, and while the snow piles up around her house, and the
north wind howls, she starts to think of spring. She remembers the day when her
granddaughter Hope found a toad, “a small wonder,” in the garden. Gram decides
to create a book about the journey made by
the toad, who was called Gem.
On a warm spring
day Gem pushed his way out of the ground and he set off to explore. He crossed
the wide expanse of a road and he almost got flattened by a passing car, which
was a terrifying experience.
Up a dirt road he
hopped until he came to a pond, where he set about singing his spring song. His
melody attracted the attention of a pretty little toad lady, and it wasn’t long
before Gem was surrounded by many little toad children. One would think that
this would be more than enough of an adventure for a toad, by Gem’s journey was
not yet over.
In this truly
beautiful picture book, two letters serve as a frame for a wordless illustrated
tale. We share in a toad’s adventures as he copes with cars, birds of prey, and
other dangers. It is thrilling to see the world from the toad’s point of view,
and we come to appreciate was a gem he is.
At the back of the
book Holly Hobbie provides readers with some facts about toads.
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