The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale Retold by Yumi Heo

By Yumi Heo

Like most rebellious children, the green frogs in this Korean folktale love to disobey their mother. What-ever she asks them to do, they do the opposite . . . until their bad habit lands them in trouble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 25, 2004
• ISBN: 9780547529752

Yumi Heo

Yumi Heo was born and raised in Korea but now lives near New York City. She remembers being told the story of the green frogs when she, a little girl in Korea, had disobeyed her mother.

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Reviews for The Green Frogs

[tcochr1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The central message in this story is to listen to your elders. I like this story because of the plot. The story is about two frogs who never listen to their mother. They always do the opposite, and when their mother dies, the find that she has one last wish for them. She wants to be buried in a special place. Realizing how much they missed their mother, the two sons decided to listen to her last wish. I like this story because it forces readers to think about real life situations. For instance, being respectful, and agreeable. Another reason why I enjoyed this story is because of the layout of text on each page. To me, a lot of text is on a page is distracting and overwhelming for a picture book, and this story has a brief amount of text on each page, and allows me to enjoy the illustrations, while reading the story. Another reason I enjoyed the story is because of the illustrations. Each page consists of a murky green, that emphasizes who the characters are in the story, and where it takes place.

[nkwak1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really like this traditional folktale because of the inclusion of a parent's death. The illustrations were actively engaging and unique. Although the colors were dark and uncommon, the illustrator included many details and pictures that were seemingly easy and effortless to copy. For example, the duckweed soup that mother frog made for the sons consisted of uneven circles. A child may see this and copy it once they want to exemplify some kind of soup. An aspect I appreciated but didn't think as fit for the age rage of this book was the way that the readers were pushed to think outside their comfort zones. In the end, the two sons ended up listening to the mother frog but only after she had passed away. Children from kindergarten to second grade may miss the point of the folktale and focus on the death of the mother. Although the tale is fake and should be focused on the reason as to why frogs croak, the children may only understand the death portion and reject the book. As mentioned before, I believe that the big idea of this book is intended to be a story expressing why frogs croak.

[winterbower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a Korean folktale emphasizing obedience. It is also an origin story that explains why frogs croak. The illustrations are awesome, a lot of random bugs and plants. They also do a great job at conveying emotions. The story is cheerful at the beginning but ends on a sad note. My daughter had tears in her eyes towards the end, but she really enjoyed the book.Some parents might be put off by the somber tone.

[katieginn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story focuses on two frog brothers who always do the opposite of what their beleaguered mother asks. This is one of my favorite childrens authors, I just love her style of sophisticated artwork. All of her books are very unique, with a educational story. She uses old folktales she learned as a child and incorporates them in her writings.

[jrozean0128 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Green Frogs is a retelling of a Korean traditional folktale. It is a story of two frogs who never listen to their mother. Whatever the mother tells them to do they do the exact opposite. She told them to eat their dinner and they refused. Then she told them to not eat, then the two frogs quickly ate. So that is how life went for the rest of the mother’s life. One day the mother died. Her last wish was to be buried on the sunny side of the hill. So knowing her children, she requested to be buried by the lake, thinking the frogs would do the opposite. The frogs felts sorry for not listening to their mother all these years and did exactly what she asked. Then is started raining and the mothers body was washed away. The frogs cried Gae Gul! Gae Gul! Gae Gul! That is why frogs make this noise when it rains.The tale is a lesson for children to listen to their parents. I was very moved by this story. It made me very sad. I can see the importance of this story in Korean culture as honoring one parents is a very key element of the Korean culture with the Confucius aspects of this Asian culture.I think this story could be taught with a science lesson on frogs and other amphibians and how they are able to live in water and on land. This story could also be taught as a guide to help children learn to respect their parents wishes for one day they may regret it. Also, I think I would have the students draw a picture or write their own story of how one should honor their parents or other persons of authority.