Hoppity Frog: A Slide-and-Seek Book Review
Dad here again! For this go around I thought I would go back to one of my daughter’s favorite early books. The book is a simple concept, large format board book called Hoppity Frog. It easily ranks as one of the most read books for when Ava was in her first year and it stands as one of the more memorable books to stay in rotation on her bookshelf.
Story
Hoppity Frog is a story about the titular frog and his slippery exploits through a watery world. The reader and listeners set out to find Hoppity Frog and encounter a host of colorful characters along the way. Each page is simplistic in its approach and is built around discovery. We are led to question the possibility that we might discover Mr. Frog on each page but it is revealed, by slide-out pages, that he has snuck past us once again!
Length
Hoppity Frog is a shorter book with only eight internal pages, but it will likely take you longer to get through than a traditional book as the slide-outs will keep your child entertained for quite some time.
Construction
The construction of the book is very sturdy which provides both pros and cons. On the pro side, this book will last! It easily stands up to babies and toddlers and can handle being thrown around with ease. Even our dogs decided to snack on it more than once and while it displays some chewed marks on the corners the book is still fully functional.
On the con side, the stiffness of the pages makes it difficult to slide the pages for little ones. At two and a half, my daughter is strong enough to move the pages on her own, but for her first year, the friction of the cardboard pages required some help. The pages often tend to jerk out and stop suddenly that makes for a bit of a jolt. It’s a trade-off though that makes for this book’s longevity and more than pays off in a quality buy.
Illustrations
The art that fills Hoppity Frog is quite colorful and fun. It is largely simplistic and likely done digitally. Kids will love the large creatures and bright contrasts between the animals and the watery backdrop. When collapsed, adults will have a pretty good idea where each page is headed but kids will likely still find a surprise on their first read-through as to when Hoppity finally makes his grand appearance.
Fun Level:
I will say that there is a sufficient lack of payoff for finding the frog. It’s literally an exclamation that you found him and the book is done. While I would have liked a better conclusion, I realize this is a book for kids and not Rhodes Scholars. (Note from Lydia: but we can all dream that one day our child will be that smart!)
I did tend to wan in my excitement when our daughter came running around the corner with this book in-hand asking for a read for the fortieth time. This is mostly because every page required sufficient pauses to play with the sliders. The same could be said for the Sesame Street P is for Potty book, which I reviewed earlier. Again this really isn’t the fault of the creator as it certainly holds the attention of the intended audience.
Overall I would definitely recommend Hoppity Frog if the buyer is content with seeing our toady friend on a frequent basis. It’s durable and light-hearted and sure to capture the attention of your newborn through at least toddler-age.
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