The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner

Illustrated by Jonathan Lambert, Dial, New York, 1996.
Hardcover edition, 16 pages, ISBN 0-8037-1875-6.

A pompous amphibian brags about his oversized oriface as he polls other creatures concerning their eating habits.

"I'm a wide-mouthed frog and I eat flies..., what do you eat?"

We learn about the varied diets of the bird, the mouse, and finally, the alligator, who ironically replies, "I eat delicious wide-mouthed frogs!"

The frog's immediate comical response is to pucker his mouth into as small an opening as possible, "Oooooh, you don't see many of those around do you?" and leaps into the pond with a "SPLASH!"

A stark white background offsets Lambert's bright watercolor characters, each of whom is placed in the book's centerfold. An impressive protruding pop-up proboscis emerges with each turn of the page, culminating with the colossal unfolding of the final "splash".

Enjoyable as a one-on-one readaloud, this little book also lends itself to frog-themed storytimes. It is especially entertaining to exaggerate mouth movements when performing the voice of the frog, and to bring to a vociferous conclusion.

The repeated sequences of the frog's interaction with each animal allow for easy memorization. Children will love creating additional animal characters and their appropriate lunches in order to keep the story alive longer.