School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-On the banks of Washtub Pond, Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander, and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy live as friends the same size until Foo starts growing. Unfortunately, his ego grows as well, and soon he is convinced that he is the biggest animal in the world. When his friends try to tell him about the enormous elephant they saw, he puffs himself up to prove his size and floats away. Encounters with a heron, a huge fish, a sea turtle, and the elephant literally let the hot air out of Foo until, ego deflated, he returns to his friends. They agree that he is the "perfect size.for a frog" and "the perfect size for a friend." This variation on a common folktale theme is endearing for its focus on the emotions and relationships of the characters. Yang lends a distinctly Chinese feel to the story through onomatopoeic phrases that will be unfamiliar to many Western readers ("shuuuuuu" as hot air whistles out of the frog, "peiii!" as a turtle spits him out), and through the bright, folk-flat feeling of her gouache illustrations.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The bond of friends Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander, and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy is shaken when Foo physically outgrows his mates--although the real problem is his big head. The plot has the rhythms of a folktale, and Foo's inevitable comeuppance is satisfying. Well-considered gouache art displays the story's humor and tenderness. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy share a special web-footed friendship. They were born on exactly the same spot on the banks of Washtub Pond, at exactly the same time and exactly the same size. But all too soon, everything begins to change. Foo Frog grows bigger. Along with his tummy, his head grows too. Just like Aesop's age-old arrogant frog, Foo boasts proudly, "I must be the biggest animal in the whole wide world!" He puffs himself up to prove it. But is he? The rumbling Kuong! Kuong! Kuong! of the elephant's footsteps tell otherwise. Bold swirls of wind and buoyant brush strokes effortlessly lift Foo into the air, sending him soaring over the pond. Yang's bright, folk-artstyle gouache illustrations and animated sound effects enliven this fable. Young readers will delight in spotting other tiny, whimsical characters along the journeyespecially Washtub Pond's keenly observant snail. Luckily for Foo, this story ends in sweet lessons of friendship and humility, not a fatal burst. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The silly title sets the scene for this funny fable of Foo Frog, Sue-Lin Salamander, and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy, who all began life on the same day in Washtub Pond. All is well until Foo grows bigger, always winning at tug-of-war and lily-pad wrestling. Not only is Foo's body growing, but so is his head. I must be the biggest animal in the whole wide world, he boasts. But when his friends observe an elephant at the pond and described it to Foo, the frog sucks in so much air that a puff of wind lifts him and carries him over farms, rice paddies, and animals all of which appear small from above. His airborne superiority is quickly quelled by a great white heron, a fish, and a giant sea turtle. Finally back on land, he realizes that he is a small frog in a big world, but the perfect size for being friends. Gouache illustrations made up of buoyant, spontaneous, and comedic strokes match the exaggeration of this foolish frog.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2009 Booklist
