At some point almost everyone decides that they wish that they were different or like someone else. They wish they had curly hair, that they were taller, that they were rich, that they were athletic, that they were.... On and on it goes. In today's picture book you will meet a frog who wishes he were something else. He does not realize, at first, that being a frog might have its advantages.
I don’t want to be a Frog
Dev Petty
Illustrated by Mike Boldt
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Random House, 2015, 978-0-385-37866-6
One day a frog tells his father that he wants to be a
cat. His dad explains that he can’t be a cat because he is a frog. The frog
child announces that he does not want to be frog anymore. Being a frog is “too
Wet.”
The little frog
then says that he wants to be a rabbit. He would be a perfect rabbit because he
can hop. Long-suffering Dad points out that the little frog doesn’t have long
ears, and you cannot possibly be a rabbit if you don’t have the right ears. Dad
feels that being is frog is a perfectly fine thing to be, but the young frog
thinks that being a frog is “too Slimy.”
The young frog
goes on to say that he would like to be a pig or an owl, and the father frog
patiently explains why a frog simply cannot be these animals. Then a wolf comes
along and he asks why the young frog is “so glum,” and the young frog explains
why it wishes it could be a cat, rabbit, pig, or owl. They wolf responds by
helping the frog to see that being a frog might have its disadvantage, but when
a wolf is in the neighborhood it is a very good thing to be.
All too often we
wish we were something else. Being who we are is boring and not very
interesting, and surely being someone else would be better. In this clever and
deliciously funny picture book the author and illustrator show to great effect that
sometimes the best thing to do is to embrace who you are right now. Others may
seem to have a better life than you do, but they might not be as well off as
they seem.
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