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The Great Frog Race: And Other Poems
A fresh collection of twenty-eight poems about a girl living in the country.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Kristine O'Connell George
17 books25 followersKristine O'Connell George is one of the principal voices in contemporary children's poetry. Since her first highly-acclaimed book, The Great Frog Race was published in 1997, Kristine O'Connell George's poetry has generated excitement and earned honors and praise. Awards for her books include the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, International Reading Association / Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, the Golden Kite, Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Awards, Claudia Lewis Poetry Awards, ALA notables, NCTE notables, School Library Journal Best Books, Hornbook Fanfare, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, and IRA-CBC Children's Choice.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 23, 2025
Some of these remind me of Ted Kooser. I especially like the one about the dreaming garden hose
September 17, 2019
Delightful little book of poems with great illustrations.
April 1, 2018
This is another book that includes a variety of short poems that are easy for kids to follow along with. It is a good introduction to discussing what poems are trying to say. The poems are about nature and experiences that students can relate to.
November 12, 2018
Great book for teaching young kids about poetry. Many wonderful poems to learn about in this book.
November 22, 2013
"The Great Frog Race" by Kristine O'Connell George contains poems that epitomize the classic "outdoor, country-living adventure" type of childhood that we wish every child could experience. The introduction to this book, written by Myra Cohn Livingston, so perfectly summarized why I love this book of poetry so much when it read:
"In a time when we have a surfeit of verse whose purpose seems mainly to elicit a quick laugh, it is not only refreshing but urgent that our children hear poetry resonating with music, keen observation, fresh metaphor and personification, and meaningful flights of imagination."
I couldn't have said it better myself! George is a master of descriptive writing in these short, playful poems. She uses so many different poetic devices to evoke beautiful imagery in the mind of the reader. She draws comparisons among things that I would have never thought of, but that are spot-on! For example, she describes Polliwogs as "chubby commas," which is exactly right, now that she mentions it. I absolutely can not WAIT to use these poems with my students as examples of phenomenal use of poetic devices. The illustrations do a nice job of tying what the author says to real experiences that our kids have probably had at one point or another in their life. For example, the poem Evening Rain describes running out to experience the start of a rain storm, which perhaps not all of our kids have done, but the paired illustration of the girl standing in the rain with her palms facing upward and a huge smile on her face is definitely something most of us have experienced as we've gotten caught in the start of a downpour.
"In a time when we have a surfeit of verse whose purpose seems mainly to elicit a quick laugh, it is not only refreshing but urgent that our children hear poetry resonating with music, keen observation, fresh metaphor and personification, and meaningful flights of imagination."
I couldn't have said it better myself! George is a master of descriptive writing in these short, playful poems. She uses so many different poetic devices to evoke beautiful imagery in the mind of the reader. She draws comparisons among things that I would have never thought of, but that are spot-on! For example, she describes Polliwogs as "chubby commas," which is exactly right, now that she mentions it. I absolutely can not WAIT to use these poems with my students as examples of phenomenal use of poetic devices. The illustrations do a nice job of tying what the author says to real experiences that our kids have probably had at one point or another in their life. For example, the poem Evening Rain describes running out to experience the start of a rain storm, which perhaps not all of our kids have done, but the paired illustration of the girl standing in the rain with her palms facing upward and a huge smile on her face is definitely something most of us have experienced as we've gotten caught in the start of a downpour.
November 3, 2017
Summary:
This is a collection of poems, primarily about nature, animals, and life outdoors. It includes many poem formats. Each poem is told from the point of view of a child, and each is beautifully illustrated.
Review:
As a child who grew up playing outside and enjoying nature and animals, I find that I have connections to almost every poem in the book. The illustrations are wonderful, and the poems are lovely and short. This would be a great book to read from in a classroom setting to get students interested in poetry.
Book connections:
I would connect this book with another collection of poems called This Big Sky by Pat Mora. This book, too, contains poems about the outside world and animals.
Quote:
One of my favorite poems in the book is a haiku called "Winter Swing":
"The old wooden swing
hanging from the apple tree
is pillowed with snow" (p. 40).
I like this poem because I always loved sitting on the freshly snow-covered swing at my house during snow storms.
This poem could be used to help students with imagery in their prose writing. The poet uses so few words to create a vivid image.
This is a collection of poems, primarily about nature, animals, and life outdoors. It includes many poem formats. Each poem is told from the point of view of a child, and each is beautifully illustrated.
Review:
As a child who grew up playing outside and enjoying nature and animals, I find that I have connections to almost every poem in the book. The illustrations are wonderful, and the poems are lovely and short. This would be a great book to read from in a classroom setting to get students interested in poetry.
Book connections:
I would connect this book with another collection of poems called This Big Sky by Pat Mora. This book, too, contains poems about the outside world and animals.
Quote:
One of my favorite poems in the book is a haiku called "Winter Swing":
"The old wooden swing
hanging from the apple tree
is pillowed with snow" (p. 40).
I like this poem because I always loved sitting on the freshly snow-covered swing at my house during snow storms.
This poem could be used to help students with imagery in their prose writing. The poet uses so few words to create a vivid image.
June 8, 2010
In this collection of poetry, George captures the wonder and simplicity of childhood. Things a child would see and do become the subjects of poems. From frog racing to monkey wrenches, George describes them with a freshness and voice that is unique.
What I thought: What a great collection! As it won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, I know I'm not the only person who thinks so. Some of my favorite poems in the collection offer the reader a new perspective on an object. "Evening Rain" uses sewing imagery. Raindrops as stitches is so plausible I found myself wondering why I hadn't considered it before. Describing a common insect's wings as window panes and cellophane in "Dragonfly" is genius. That's exactly what their wings look like. As I read the poems, I found myself remembering my own childhood. If I were to write poems about my childhood, I can only hope that they would have the same magic as George's. I freely admit my subject matter would be different. Think mud pies, rain dancing, and puddle jumping.
What I thought: What a great collection! As it won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, I know I'm not the only person who thinks so. Some of my favorite poems in the collection offer the reader a new perspective on an object. "Evening Rain" uses sewing imagery. Raindrops as stitches is so plausible I found myself wondering why I hadn't considered it before. Describing a common insect's wings as window panes and cellophane in "Dragonfly" is genius. That's exactly what their wings look like. As I read the poems, I found myself remembering my own childhood. If I were to write poems about my childhood, I can only hope that they would have the same magic as George's. I freely admit my subject matter would be different. Think mud pies, rain dancing, and puddle jumping.
July 8, 2017
I had my youngest niece read this book to me so I could see an eight-year-old's perspective on the book. She really enjoyed it, so did I. This book reminds me of my childhood, growing up on the farm. I like how she called tadpoles chubby commas, I asked Farrah what she thought the polliwogs/chubby commas were, it took her a minute, but she finally decided the answer was tadpoles. I would use this book in a poetry unit to show that not all poetry has to rhyme.
Interest Level http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bo...
Grades 3 - 5
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 3.5
Lexile® Measure: Not Available
DRA: 38
Guided Reading: P
Genre
Poetry and Rhymes
Interest Level http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bo...
Grades 3 - 5
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 3.5
Lexile® Measure: Not Available
DRA: 38
Guided Reading: P
Genre
Poetry and Rhymes
December 9, 2009
The Great Frog Race and Other Poems contain poems that are related to nature and country living. George is able to describe water bugs as the zip across the water with very little movement to the water and their silver like appearance. Kiesler’s illustrations are done in oil paint and consist of natural colors such as greens, blues, browns, and yellows. She is able to portray the image that the author is trying get the reader to visualize.
Level: K – 8th
Content: LA – The student is to write in their own words what they feel is going on in two of the poems.
Level: K – 8th
Content: LA – The student is to write in their own words what they feel is going on in two of the poems.
July 22, 2008
These nature-based poems frequently contain unusual descriptive language that helps us see the world around us in a new light, as good poetry will do. I especially enjoyed the author's use of haikus in several poems - nature is the traditional subject of haiku, although in its adaptation by Western writers that has not always been the case.
March 13, 2015
This book had fun and inviting poems of all different sizes. I am usually intimidated by poetry and I find it hard to understand what the author is trying to convey, but I enjoyed the different poems and the illustrations with them. Some of the poems I had to reread once further looking at the illustrations in order to fully understand the humor or phrases used.
October 22, 2008
This is a wonderful poetry book for all ages. I use this book to teach my students to always use beautiful words and word choice. She loves nature and proves she wrote these poems from fond memories, or while being at the different landscapes.
December 15, 2009
This is a collection of thematic poems about the outdoors. Did not relate to it much, and did not find the poems to be thrilling, but I did find many different types of poetry in this book, such as haiku, lyric poem, and more.
March 1, 2013
I instantly connected with the poems in this book. Growing up on a farm, I was able to relate to the theme of the poems. Several poems in this book would be a great for classroom use. I can see young children enjoying The Great Frog Race.
February 18, 2015
This book would be good for children who are interested in poetry. Spring wind was my favorite part. When I looked at the pictures and read the words I could smell the lavender flowers outside. The illustrations really allow the words to come alive in the poem.
February 25, 2015
I really enjoyed these short poems in this book. This book would be great to introduce poems because of the short length and also the great illustrations included. My favorite poem was metal bucket.
March 21, 2015
This book is a collections of poems that are mostly about nature. These poems can be used in the classroom to show students some examples of how poems are written. Younger students could benefit from searching for rhyming words.
December 4, 2015
This book is packed full of poems pertaining to the outdoors. The poems are visual and ignites all of the senses. I would recommend using this book to students as an "unwinding method" in order to bring students to their center. It could also be used to discus poem structure.
September 14, 2014
This one is very good, and beautiful to read by oneself or to one's poetry-loving child.
August 15, 2012
Some poems about country life, but perhaps a bit too boring.
November 5, 2012
Many poems about nature, it would be good in the changing of the seasons to use poems from this book. great imagery used. Could be used for any grade in different ways.
March 20, 2015
I love this book. It is so enjoyable especially if you love poetry as I do. A very easy read with beautiful illustrations to go with each poem - vivid words, imagery, and illustrations.
October 2, 2015
a great collection of poems about the outdoors.
October 18, 2016
Once again, the frogs got me. It was a good book and kids will love it.
January 19, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews