Frog in Love

By Max Velthuijs

In the very first story to feature the loveable amphibian, Frog is feeling most unwell. He keeps getting hot, then cold, and something inside his chest is going 'thump, thump'. Hare says it means he's in love! But who with? And how can he show his devotion - perhaps by performing the biggest jump ever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andersen Digital
• Release date: Sep 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781849396073

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Reviews for Frog in Love

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Originally published in the Netherlands as Kiker is verliefd, this charming picture-book is the first in Dutch author/artist Max Velthuijs' acclaimed Frog series, and follows its eponymous ranine hero as he discovers the pleasure and pain of love. Feeling rather odd, and distinctly uncomfortable, Frog isn't sure just what the trouble is, until his friend Hare diagnoses the problem: he's in love! After the first euphoria of this discovery, Frog sets out to discover just who he is love with, and, that done, how he might woo her...There is an understated humor to this story that I found immensely appealing: Frog's enthusiasm, when Hare diagnoses his 'condition,' and then his search for an object for his affections, really had me chuckling. Frog's courtship of Duck was endearing - all the more so, given his shyness, when it came to actually declaring himself - and the conclusion of the tale, which highlights the fact that love can flourish across all kinds of difference (of color, of species), was most welcome. The artwork, with its bright colors and simple composition, was very appealing. All in all, a lovely start to another froggie series - one better known in Europe, I suspect, than here in the states.NOTE: The English translation of Kiker is verliefd, done by Anthea Bell, was published in the USA the same year as the original (1989), and then reprinted in this miniature British edition in 2003. I have compared the two editions (I own the miniature edition from Andersen Press, and took the Farrar Strauss Giroux edition out of my local library), and found them to be almost identical. The text was arranged somewhat differently on the page, in the miniature edition, due to space constraints, but there was only one actual change in text, toward the end of the book. When Frog crashes to the ground, and Duck comes to his rescue, the full-sized edition reads: "Frog could hardly walk. Supporting him carefully, she took him home with her. She nursed him with tender loving care." This has been changed, in the miniature edition, to "Frog could hardly walk. Duck took him home with her and nursed him." I have no idea why this one sentence (and no other) was changed...