Wanda and the Frogs - Hardcover

Barbara Azore was born in England and emigrated to Canada in 1967. From 1970 to 1997 she was employed by the Edmonton Public School Board, working in Elementary and Junior High School Libraries. Since retiring, she has had articles published in the Edmonton Journal and Birth Issues. She began writing children’s stories to accompany sweaters that she knit for her grandchildren. Her first published children’s book came about after she entered the Writer’s Union of Canada’s “Writing for Children” Competition in 1999. Barbara Azore lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

Georgia Graham was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta and has been hooked on chalk pastels since grade four. She graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1982 and first used her art to entertain children in her Sunday school class. Her published works include A Team Like No Other, The Saturday Appaloosa, Bibi and the Bull, The Strongest Man This Side of Cremona, Tiger’s New Cowboy Boots, and more. This is her second collaboration with Barbara Azore. Georgia Graham lives with her husband and two children in central Alberta.

Kindergarten-Grade 3—In Azore's second picture book featuring Wanda, the girl finds tadpoles in a puddle and takes them to school. Her teacher sets up an aquarium, and, as days pass, the creatures begin their transformation, ultimately needing to be released back into the natural world. The children are sad to say good-bye to them, and Wanda convinces her teacher that she will be able to take care of some of the frogs at home. Chaos ensues when they escape from her room and surprise her unsuspecting mother. All ends well as Wanda and her father agree that the now-collected frogs need to return to the creek. He promises to consider building a backyard pond so that one of her frogs might visit in the summer. The book is perfect for a read-aloud tie-in to a unit on frogs or a frog-themed storyhour. The brightly hued, chalk-pastel cartoon illustrations add to the story's charm. Youngsters will enjoy studying the changes to the tadpoles as they develop and looking for the small creatures hiding in Wanda's home. A neat addition for spring.—Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA
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