Big Frog Can't Fit In

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!  To celebrate all things green, I thought I would talk about a book with a little bit of green in it.  Many readers of all ages already know and love Mo Willems from his series of books about Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, and a few other animal characters. For St. Patrick’s Day we look at Willem’s book Big Frog Can't Fit In.  It’s an oversized pop-up book featuring a bigger than life frog that has the problem of being way too big to fit into the book.  Like many pop-up books, it has moveable parts that make the book interactive, but this book is masterfully crafted to not only bring the reader into the scenes of the book, but force the scenes out of the book into the reader’s world.

I found this great you-tube video preview of the book, because seeing this book in action is essential.  

As you can see, this book is a riot.  How much fun is a huge frog hopping in and out of a story?  Kids will laugh at the frog and his silly solutions for fitting into the book.  Like many books with moveable parts, this book runs the very big risk of tears and missing pieces.  This book seems especially vulnerable for being damaged, given the pulls, unfolds, and moving parts.  That being said, the book is sooooo cute!  I enjoyed it, as did my three year old Lil Guy.  It’s a perfect book to share with kids.  Read-Aloud this book to a group or just one little one.  Push and pull and pieces and parts together, but then maybe put it on a high shelf away from little hands that can get too easily frustrated. And, of course, check out the rest of Mo Willems fun and hilarious books for kids.