“Odd Job Frog” by Colleen and Zed Jacey, reviewed by Pippa Wilson

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to try to review a few more picture books this year, so I’m kicking off my first review of 2016 with this one!

Matador Hardback £12.99 (I spied a special offer at WHSmith for £9.09!)

What’s it about?

Frog is sure that a trip to the city will be much more exciting than life in the country. And when he arrives in London, he is thrilled by all the things to see and do. But finding a job proves more difficult than he imagines. We follow frog as he perseveres with following his dreams. Will he ever find a job to earn enough money to visit all the fantastic attractions London has to offer?

So what did I think?

A cheery and fun new twist on the town mouse, country mouse tale.

This is a lovely book to share with a young person: filled with lively and fresh illustrations, and a well-told funny story. We soon warm to frog’s plan; and sympathise when he finds it tough to get a job. With just the right proportion of text to pictures, Colleen and  Zed Jacey quickly have us rooting for good old Frog!

Odd Job Frog is proudly British: the illustrations of London are such a rare treat, and straight away I thought that this would make a great souvenir from a trip to the capital.

With a nice clear font this would be a great book for children to read independently. As a teacher I can see a lot of themes in this book that would make it ideal to share with a class or assembly.

I think the fact that it’s written by a mother and daughter ‘dynamic duo’ makes it even more special! Go and find a copy…

Pippa Wilson

1oth January 2016