Frog and the Stranger

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When a rat comes to live at the edge of their wood, the animals decide they don't like having a stranger in their midst. But Frog is friendly by nature, and decides to find out if Rat is really as unpleasant as he is made out to be. As Frog discovers, Rat is intelligent and good-hearted, and proves in a series of unexpected emergencies that the other animals have been too quick to condemn him.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Velthuijs's sensitive, amiable amphibian witnesses prejudice close-up when Pig and Duck take an instant dislike to an itinerant rat. Although Frog finds the newcomer not only unobjectionable but quite interesting, his friends maintain that ``everyone knows'' that rats are ``a thieving lot.'' With wise Hare's approval, Frog continues to visit the rodent; Rat wins the others' approbation after putting out a fire in Pig's house and saving Hare from drowning. Frog and his cohorts are depicted in simple, graceful lines that give full expression to their endearing foibles, from Pig's stubbornness to Frog's childlike curiosity and innocence. However, the book's message is conveyed somewhat heavyhandedly and its tensions are disappointingly resolved (that Rat is accepted only after heroically proving his helpfulness dilutes the lesson about tolerance), with the result that this venture is less engaging than Frog in Winter and Frog in Love. Ages 4-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2-Pig and Duck are suspicious of Rat when he arrives as a stranger in their community. Duck says, ``You have to be careful of rats. They're a thieving lot.'' Frog keeps an open mind, though, and gets to know the newcomer before judging him. Rat proves to be an exemplary neighbor, but Duck and Pig almost let their prejudices blind them to his positive aspects. Only after he helps them directly do they accept him as a friend. The story itself is rather thin. Rat arrives, becomes a helpful and entertaining part of the group, and then moves on. The simple tale carries a strong message, however, and should be helpful in explaining discrimination to young children. Frog persists in being friendly to Rat even when the others express disapproval. He is strong enough to hold on to his own sense of what is right. Although Rat has done nothing wrong, he must go to heroic measures (saving Pig from a fire and rescuing Hare from drowning) just to be treated with common curtesy. The brightly colored drawings give the animals personality and add appeal to the tale. The design is uncluttered and inviting. A useful lesson in values where needed.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Ages 4-6. Frog's friends are sure they know everything important about the stranger in the woods. He's a rat, and "everyone knows" rats are thieving, filthy, sneaky, and lazy. Frog, however, is an independent thinker, and he discovers that Rat is industrious, a world traveler, and even a helpful neighbor. Before Rat eventually moves on (he hasn't seen South America yet), all the animals become friends. Velthuijs scripts the outsider as clean, kind, a good storyteller, and more, but young listeners will be less concerned with the stranger's exceptional nature than with the friendships Frog makes possible by thinking for himself. Although shined up a little too perfectly, life in these woods is uncomplicated and attractive, just as Velthuijs' simple shapes on broad fields of color make clear. ~--Mary Harris Veeder

Horn Book Review

When Frog befriends Rat, a newcomer to the area, Pig and Duck tell him to be careful because rats are a 'filthy . . . thieving lot.' Judging for himself, Frog finds Rat to be an extraordinary individual and a very good friend. While Velthuijs shows that prejudices can narrow personal experience, he walks a fine line between telling a story and teaching a lesson. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.