One Frog Too Many (A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog)

I bought this book for my grandson's 5th birthday. He is already beginning to read, so I had mixed feelings about no written text. However the drawings are so narrative that the lack of written language is a mute point. I think it will be a good experience overall for him to use another part of his brain to "read" the story. He loves Mercer Mayer, as do I, and we have been reading Little Critter, Littler Monster, etc. since he was born. Some of the books we own were ones that I read to his mom and aunt.

This book was recommended by my sister who is a speech pathologist. She was testing a student who had been misdiagnosed as having no English. She asked the child to tell her what he was happening in the pictures and he went about explaining what was happening, in English. This wordless book is a useful tool for any teacher to have. It could be used to determine how much language they have and what they know.

This is such a fun book. The Mayers do an amazing job!! This is a wordless picture book. The story is about a boy who receives a frog for a present-the problem is he already has one!! You will truly laugh out loud as you follow the story with the entertaining pictures that tell far more than words ever could. It also is a great tool for teaching children to tell a story to you (enhancing vocabulary and reading skills). They can use the pictures and make up their own story. My kids LOVE this book and at seven and five they still get it out sometimes to show their friends or just for a laugh. If you enjoy this one be sure to check out the other titles in this series. "Frog Goes to Dinner" and "A Boy, A Dog and A Frog"

Mercer Mayer's A Boy, a Dog and a Frog series is excellent overall. The illustrations are charming, with naturalistic detail, and delightfully exaggerated expressions on the characters' faces. I'd single out Frog Goes to Dinner myself, as perhaps my favorite book in the series. I've read all of them with my son, however, and this is the one he likes best. What makes the series so good? the simple, wordless stories are easily understood by the youngest of children. However, they are universal enough (amusing, and with heartfelt emotion) that even adults will enjoy them. Plus, its great for a child's creativity to turn the book over to him and have him "read" the story.

I love this book! While all of Mercer Mayer's wordless frog books are delightful, this is definitely my favorite. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words in this case. From beginning to end every characters' thoughts and emotions are perfectly clear. The illustrations are delightful and the characters' body language and facial expressions are wonderfully expressive. Even very young children can look at this book and understand what is going on.