LEAPS AND BOUNCE
A Growing Up Story
Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Little, Brown Young Readers
ISBN: 978-1423152347
Look out, world! Something's up down at the pond. The ruckus started out small, but every day it's been growing by leaps and bounds. Follow tiny tadpoles as they start out as small, rounded eggs, and then sprout wiggly tails, before leaping their way into the big wide world!
The team behind ROOTING FOR YOU, which the New York Times called "a cheerful alternative to Dr. Seuss's OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO”, is back with another crowd-pleasing read-aloud romp based on a miraculous metamorphosis from nature. "Just as sure as rivers flow, changes come to all who grow."
"Just as sure as rivers flow, changes come to all who grow."
Praise for LEAPS AND BOUNCE
Kirkus Reviews
"Changes are happening underwater—look closely and watch the fun as a clutch of eggs turns into leaping, bouncing frogs.
A cluster of eggs, “round and spotted, / polka-dotted,” waits beneath the water’s surface, and readers are invited to wonder what’s inside. The mystery doesn’t last long—in just a few page turns, wiggling, squiggling creatures emerge, exploring their underwater environs. Several gatefolds add to the fun, as the changes literally unfold before readers’ eyes. Tadpoles zip and zap, splish and splash across the page, smiling and leaping out of the water. But “changes come to all who grow,” and soon the young amphibians sprout legs. In almost no time, they become “leaping, peeping, hopping, bopping” frogs! As in their charming Rooting for You (2014), Hood’s energetic rhyming text is joyfully matched with Cordell’s humorous illustrations. The wordplay is delightful, full of internal rhymes and bouncing rhythms. Interestingly, Hood never names the stages of frog development but instead encourages readers to notice the changes at each step. Cordell’s smiling frogs, with their goggling eyes, are very similar to his loving, happy mama and baby frog in Lauren Thompson’s Leap Back Home to Me (2011). Cheerful tadpoles and frogs are full of movement, clearly loving life in the pond.
The life cycle of a frog becomes a joyful, energetic celebration of growing up. (Picture book. 3-5)"
Reading Style Guide
"Acclaimed author Susan Hood joyfully explores the developmental amphibian cycle in Leaps and Bounce, a jazzy riff on the "growing by leaps and bounds" adage. The text's rhythm and rhyme brings "bounce" to each page and invites readers to take the next page turn "leap".
Award-winning illustrator Matthew Cordell's art perfectly mimics the exhuberant words. He manages to give not just frogs, but also tadpoles and even egg masses personality! He employs a muted palette of aquatic blues and greens, with just the right pop of yellow. The gatefolds are exactly, precisely right. The underlying theme "just as sure as rivers flow, changes come to all who grow" gives the book universal appeal. Destined to become a can't-miss sure-fire hit!" —Barbara Moon, Reading Style Guide.
School Library Journal
“A lighthearted rhyming story about growing up. In the pond are hundreds of eggs, “round and spotted,/polka-dotted.” Who’s inside, and who will they be? Spring is here, and it has brought a mystery to this pond, where “dragonflies investigate [and] ducklings stop [to] watch and wait.” Soon there are subtle changes inside the eggs, and the little dots inside begin to grow tails in their first step to becoming real frogs. Now they burst forth from the egg sac and zip through the pond’s waters. Before long, two legs appear and then two more. Now the “clever little divers [are] dashing. Kicking, flicking,/splishing, splashing!” And, finally, as new frogs, they enjoy sitting on logs by the edge of the pond. And just like everything else in nature, “few of us grow up unchanged.” The cartoonlike drawings that accompany this rhyming text are done in pen and ink, mostly in hues of green and other colors of nature. The humorous illustrations set the mood. VERDICT A fine choice for one-on-one sharing. Children will enjoy the foldout pages, full of froggies and tadpoles.” —Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
Librarian's Quest
"With the same exuberance as her subjects exhibit Susan Hood spins a tale of growth. Her collection of words when read silently or aloud literally zip off the page; alliteration and rhyme combining to bring the essence of all things frog to readers. Not only do we fully understand the cycle of egg to adult but we are given a glimpse of other creatures making a home in their watery realm. ...you will be smiling from beginning to end. The words and pictures are full of a zest for growing and living. I have not had quite this much fun reading about frogs since I first read Tuesday by David Wiesner." —Margie Myers