First-time author Dev Petty's funny dialogue between a small unsatisfied frog and a bespectacled adult frog comes delightfully to life with Mike Boldt's minimalist illustrations.
"I want to be a cat," says the seated small frog's speech bubble, with "cat" in red all-capital letters. "You can't be a cat," answers the adult, standing in an authoritative position. "Why not?" asks the small frog from the opposite page, with only his head visible from the lower right-hand corner. "Because you're a frog," the reasonable adult replies. "I don't like being a Frog. It's too wet," says the small frog, waist-deep in a pond. This exchange repeats as the small frog cites other animals he'd prefer (a rabbit, a pig, an owl), and frog characteristics he dislikes (too slimy, too much bug eating). He even tells the adult frog he'd be okay eating garbage as a pig ("Everyone says that until they eat garbage. Sorry, you can't be a Pig," the adult responds). But a big furry creature enters the picture that helps the frog feel grateful to be who he is.
Color-coded speech balloons help guide youngest readers through the action, and a variety of compositions increase the humor (as when the older frog walks the younger one through a chart of owl attributes). Petty and Boldt provide just enough predictability to hook youngest readers, then deliver a delightful twist or two to create surprise and satisfaction--for both the green hero and the many fans he'll make with this book. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness