Froggy Plays Soccer

Written by Jonathan London

Narrated by John McDonough

The night before the big soccer game, Froggy is so excited he can't get to sleep. But morning comes, and he's ready to go. If the Dream Team beats the Wild Things, they win the City Cup. It's zap, zeep, znap, and Froggy's in his uniform. On the way to the game his dad reminds him: "Head it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! But don't use your hands!" The game starts, and Froggy is on the field. He does some cartwheels, he picks some flowers and his nose. With a minute left to go the game is tied, and the ball is headed straight for Froggy. Can Froggy keep his mind on the game and his hands off the ball long enough to save the day? Young listeners will cheer along with John McDonough's lively narration as Froggy flops his way towards victory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449816889

Jonathan London

Jonathan London has written more than one hundred picture books for children, many of them about wildlife, including Honey Paw and Lightfoot, The Eyes of Gray Wolf, Little Puffin's First Flight, and Pup the Sea Otter. He has sold more than 1.5 million books and is known in particular for his Froggy series. He lives with his wife in northern California.

Reviews for Froggy Plays Soccer

[vharsh1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story, “Froggy Plays Soccer” is a story about a little frog that plays on a team and is trying to learn the rules of soccer. The first thing I noticed that I liked about this story is the patterns in the language used. The author used repetition as the story developed. Froggy always had a hard time remembering what he needed to do when he received the ball. The pattern was part of the rules of soccer, “Head it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! But don’t use your hands!” The next reason I liked this book was the illustrations. The illustrations were brightly colored throughout the pages. Also with the illustrations, the author used bold print for the reader to know to express the words by using a loud voice. The main idea of this story is to try your best but mostly just have fun.

[eobend1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, this is a great book for young readers, especially those who are into sports and being active. I loved this book because the language is fun. The author uses words to describe sounds and get the reader excited, such as, “zap!, zeep!, zlim!, zloom!”. There are plenty of exclamation points throughout the story which keep the reader engaged because exclamation points are meant to excite the reader. One word the author uses to describe Froggy’s movement is “leapfrogged” which is appropriate for a frog. Children reading this book also would love the rest of the animals included, such as beavers, rabbits, hedgehogs, etc. An adult reading this story aloud to a child could use the animals in the pictures to ask the child what sounds those animals might make from their mouth or their movement. I also liked this book because it pushes readers to consider important concepts they might not gain from reading other stories. This story teaches children about teamwork, sportsmanship, and also encourages kids to be active. I liked how throughout the book, Froggy does not necessarily know all the rules about soccer and he is not particularly good at playing, yet he still has fun and ends up scoring the winning goal. The big message of this book is that it is okay to mess up; you can make mistakes in sports and still have fun, and you should always keep a positive attitude and encourage others who are struggling, rather than put them down.

[david.endres · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book a lot. One reason is that both the illustrations and text shows and teaches the reader how to play the game of soccer. I also enjoyed the figurative language used. For example, it says in the book “In the morning Froggy was bursting to go. He pulled on his underwear – Zap!” The main idea of this story is to show the reader how to play the game of soccer and to never give up because Froggy never gave up during his game even when he wasn’t doing so well.

[jenvid_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Froggy has a soccer game, and he accidentally holds the ball during the soccer game. In the end, he saves the game and his team wins! This is a great book on sportsmanship and supporting your team. I have seen a lot of teachers do group work, and if there are students not getting along or supporting each other, I would read this book to my class.

[leshauck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great example of what it takes to reach a goal. Your family and friends encourage you and you keep trying till you reach your goal. Grades 1-4