Fine As We Are by Algy Craig Hall (Boxer Books, distributed by Sterling, $14.95, 9781905417728/1905417721, 32 pp., ages 4-8, April)
Newcomer Hall leaps onto the picture book scene with this exuberant tale of a reluctant older sibling. Little Frog and his mom inhabit a peaceful pond--just the two of them. The book's generous format (11" x 10") and a palette of earth tones allow the author-artist to emphasize the spaciousness of their environs. Their wide-eyed stares lend the duo a comical air, and their slit eyes as they embrace telegraph their contentment. When Mom asks Little Frog, "Would you like a baby brother or sister?" he answers with the title refrain, "We're just fine as we are." But astute readers will notice some strange circular blobs floating in the water near the little hero's webbed feet. "After a while the little squiggly swimming things changed into tiny frog babies. . . . Little Frog was worried." Soon the once-abundant white space teems with tiny frogs and, as the siblings grow in size and number, they crowd Little Frog right off the right-hand margin of the spread. Hall quickens the visual pacing with vignettes of the relentless baby frogs following their big brother everywhere ("Little Frog couldn't get a minute to himself"). But when Mom points out that "They only want to be like you," Little Frog gets an idea--and starts to take a liking to his newfound playmates. Quiet nocturnal scenes of the hero and his mother--even after the brothers' and sisters' arrival--make clear that Little Frog continues to remain special in her eyes and also provide a lovely counterpoint to the boisterous scenes of baby frogs gone wild. This is a must for children who were just fine as they were--before that baby came along. Hall, himself an older brother to quadruplets, clearly knows whereof he speaks; and youngsters will hope he has many more stories to come.--Jennifer M. Brown
