Jump, Frog, Jump

by Robert Kalan, Byron Barton (Illustrator)

children

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Nature, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 1986

Reviews

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Jump, Frog, Jump” is a lyrical children’s book written by Robert Kalan along with illustrations by Byron Barton and it is about how a small frog tries to avoid all the dangerous animals who all want it for their dinner. The food chain theme may be a bit too upsetting for smaller children to handle, but older children would most definitely enjoy this lyrical book about the food chain and a smart frog.

Robert Kalan’s writing is highly creative and lyrical as he writes the explanation of the food chain in a lyrical prose and he effectively uses the phrase, “JUMP, FROG, JUMP!” every time a threat comes to the frog and it must jump away from the threat in order for it to stay alive. Byron Barton’s illustrations are colorful and simplistic as he makes the animals who threatened the frog looking menacing and sometimes scary, especially of the image of the turtle hiding behind the bushes looking viciously at the frog. I also love the way that Byron Barton illustrates the flowers and the bushes in green and red colors, making them look extremely beautiful.

Parents should know that this book involves the food chain theme where the animals eat each other up each time the frog is in danger. The idea that each animal is being eaten by another animal that is bigger than the last may upset small children who are not used to the food chain in the animal kingdom. Parents may want to explain to their children about how the food chain works in the animal world and explain to them that even though this is a morbid way of telling the children that this is how animals survive in the wilderness, it is a natural system of the food chain in the animal kingdom.

“Jump, Frog, Jump” is one of the greatest books about the natural order food chain for children as it is put in a lyrical format that young children would find simple to read. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the writing format is extremely simple for small children to read, but parents may need to explain the food chain in the animal world to them first before they read this book to their children.



Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was read at story time today as part of the summer reading theme Make a Splash with Reading. The book itself was okay. What I liked is how our librarian asked the listeners to say Jump, Frog, Jump along with the book. That also allowed me to jump Natalie up while we listened, much like Pop Goes the Weasel.

[Rebecca Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jump, Frog, Jump! is a great read for any children's age. It tells the story of a very smart frog who seems to escape being eaten by bigger animals. The frog jumps his way to safety multiple time but what will happen when it is humans that are after him instead of other animals? Throughout the story the author uses repetition in the text and the illustrations are bright and colorful.

This children's literature book would be considered great quality. According to Children's Literature Briefly 7th Edition, a good quality book contains several different criteria. One of those is that a story contains style and language- Robert Kalan does a great job and sticking with a cumulative style. The language used helps too add to the character of the book. It contains simple short sentences. Another criteria used to determine quality in books is plot. This story proves to follow a plot, the main character- Frog connects with the reader and the reader can start to feel bad for him and hopes that he can get away from all the predators.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and simple book to get kids to interact. "How did the frog get away? Jump, frog, jump!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun cumulative tale about creatures in a pond. It has bright, bold illustrations and a simple, building narrative that is fun to read aloud. We enjoyed reading along with this book as it was narrated on CD. I recognized the illustrator's name as we have a french book by him, Aéroport.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frog uses his one sure defense against being caught in this cumulative tale. When frog tries to catch a fly, without being caught himself, the story asks, "how does the frog get away?"...Jump, Frog, Jump

Used for "Frog Fever" Storytime-May, 2010.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pattern book that would be good for a read aloud involving children.

[Kirsty Cabot · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read to Ivy 22/05/16

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie’s Picks: JUMP, FROG, JUMP! by Robert Kalen and Byron Barton, ill., Greenwillow, 1981, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-688-13954-4

“That’s a sure sign baby there’s a bullfrog on your mind.”
-- John Sebastian (1971)

“This is the snake that dropped from a branch
and swallowed the fish
that swam after the frog
that was under the fly that climbed out of the water.
How did the frog get away?
Jump, frog, jump!”

Greenwillow Books was a picture book powerhouse in the 1980s, publishing many great titles that won awards and are still must-reads for today’s young children. Award winners from that decade that remain part of my own personal collection include Caldecott Honor books TEN, NINE, EIGHT by Molly Bang and HAVE YOU SEEN MY DUCKLING? by Nancy Tafuri.

JUMP, FROG, JUMP!, a book illustrated by Byron Barton that helped create that era’s classic Greenwillow style, became a favorite circle time read-aloud for my young students back in the late 1980s. It remains a favorite for me and many others nearly forty years after it’s initial publication.

JUMP, FROG, JUMP! has a repetitive pattern and is a cumulative story. It was always easy to get the kids to repeatedly holler “Jump, frog, jump!” in all the right places.

The story includes a multicultural human cast and a wonderful ending involving a young boy hero.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com

[Mama Bibliosoph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jump, Frog, Jump! has one of my favorite structures: the cumulative poem (sometimes called a chaining story). Every page adds a line to the poem and the entire poem is recalled and built upon. These stories are fabulous for exercising a child's working memory skills. The most famous cumulative rhymes are "The House That Jack Built" and "Who Killed Cock Robin."

This story also, brilliantly, adds a repeating call and response element. As various predators and other enemies threaten the frog, the poem always asks, "How did the frog get away?" And the child learns to reply "Jump, frog, jump!"

I love the interactivity. I also appreciate the predictive illustrative touch of the next predator/threat always lurking in the background. However, the illustrations are quite bold and dark. My son Luke, who is hypersensitive to visual noise, has difficulty with this book.

---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books for kids who really love frogs and toads: https://www.lineupthebooks.com/frogs-...

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lively cumulative story has been a storytime favorite for decades — and for good reason! Each page hosts a different creature trying to catch the little frog, and my students can’t resist joining in the refrain: “Jump, frog, jump!” The repetition gives children the joy of prediction while the bold, colorful illustrations by Byron Barton make the action easy to follow, even for toddlers.
What makes this book shine is how naturally it invites movement. Young readers can crouch low like the frog and spring into the air at just the right moment, practicing coordination and gross motor movement. It also models problem-solving, as the frog cleverly escapes one danger after another. The rhythm, rhyme, and playful participation make it a wonderful book for encouraging language development, while the physical movement keeps kids engaged from start to finish.

This would pair wonderfully with curriculum on movement, text inferences, and life science topics (pond life, animal families, etc.).

[Pablo Enrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

While its repetitive, cumulative structure lends the narrative a certain degree of memorability, the story itself ultimately feels slight. It offers a clear, linear chase sequence that is easy for a young audience to follow, but it lacks the narrative complexity or originality found in more enduring works of children's literature.

The illustrative style appears to aim for a childlike simplicity, presumably to foster accessibility. However, this aesthetic choice forgoes an opportunity to create a richer visual world that might inspire a greater sense of beauty or wonder. The book is likely to be effective in engaging preschoolers, a commendable achievement in its own right. Yet, it seems unlikely to offer the richer, multi-layered experience that allows certain stories to resonate across generations.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frog has lots of reasons to jump! From the preparatory lurking nearby on each page, to having to catch his own dinner! This cumulative story will have children calling out “Jump, frog, jump!” And makes an enjoyable read aloud for toddlers and preschoolers-as long as they can stand animals eating each other, because it does happen twice (not in any graphic way). I personally think kids should be introduced to that concept early anyways, predators are important and are not “mean”. The illustrations are great, I love the heavy use of lines and bold colors.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read-Aloud Revival Recommendation for June Picture Books. This is a cumulative tale (along the lines of THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT). Even though these kinds of tales can become tedious for the reader (at least, in my experience), they seem to really help kids with comprehension, understanding and prose or flow of a story. And my kids like these tales. Cute. Worked for us.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cumulative tale that allows readers to get involved saying "Jump, Frog, Jump!" as the frog escapes one peril after another. For enthusiastic kids, this would be a great read aloud, if the kids don't get into it, this one will fall flat. For babies, caregivers could lift them up on each "Jump" or toddlers could jump themselves on each jump.

[Arika]

Jump, Frog, Jump starts off slow and easy to read. As the story goes on it can become a tongue twister! This is great for working with phonics and reading speed. At the end of each page is a question where you can ask the students what they think will happen next or how they think something happened. This would be a great interactive book.

[Karrington Mcknight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for toddlers language and development. I have a 3 year old niece who loves making animal sounds so what I did was when the frog appeared on a page I would ask her to point to the frog, or ask what sound do frogs make. Also in the book "Jump, Jump, Frog" was said a lot and she would chime in and say it with me so it was very cute, and she had no clue she was learning.

[Taylor Tuchek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was a cute interactive story that was about different animals, eating animals down the food chain. This story was fun and interactive because if you are reading it to a class full of students, they are able to talk and repeat "Jump, Frog, Jump. This is good for young learners so you can keep them engaged throughout the story and make story time fun for them.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cumulative story that starts with a frog jumping to catch a fly. He then has to jump away from a fish, jump from a snake that caught the fish, and so on. What makes this tale fun for young readers/listeners is that the frog has to get away from each new danger so that “Jump, frog, jump!” becomes the mantra at each page turn. Great ending. Fun bold illustrations.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so torn about the rating on this book. as the adult who reads it, it's cumbersome, boring, the pictures are not my favorite. my toddler was scared of turtles after reading this book. but for some reason, he loved this book. like he wanted to read it all the time and multiple times in a row. it was a huge hit. would I get it again from the library? not unless my kid chose it.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An omnipotent narrator tells readers the story of a frog in a garden. Throughout the book there are different dangers that the frog might encounter if he doesn't "jump, Frog, jump!"

Children will love shouting the repeated catchphrase.

[Suhad Albaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very easy book for kids to read. Jump, Frog, Jump was mentioned a lot in this book because the frog was trying to get away from all the things that we're trying to capture him, and the only way to escape was by jumping.

[Kennedy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great book when teaching children sight words. It will also be a good book to read to children when teaching them about jumping. The pictures are ok but the children will enjoy the stroy if read correctly.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This classic cumulative tale with the repetitive line Jump, Frog, Jump will engage young readers as they discover how the frog keeps getting away from tricky situations. The book is very accessible with repetitive lines and a cumulative structure.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a decent introduction to the concept of the food chain, and the cumulative poem has an effective refrain, but YIKES, that snake looks terrifying. o_o This one is not for me or my storytime audience.

[Hayley Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jump, Fog, Jump! is a cute children's book about a frog trying to avoid getting eaten by bigger animals. The story repeats the line Jump, Frog, Jump! encouraging the readers to follow along to see where he's going to hop next to avoid the next predator.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the bright illustrations and repetitive words. The frog only manages to stay one jump ahead of the various predators. I think kids would greatly enjoy shouting, "Jump, frog, jump!" as this book is read aloud.

[Kimberly]

Multiple lines of text that make one sentence, it’s in the format of the The House That Jack Built where it keeps building on each phrase. It asks how does the frog get away? And it’s by “Jump, frog, jump!” Simple childlike illustrations, but they are all very colorful.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read! It’s important to notice that the book tells about the frog’s food chain and how the frog is trying to get away from bigger animals eating him. This book could be informational on that aspect, or just a fun book to read!

[Kaiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Every time I read "Jump Frog Jump" My son would giggle so loud. It was the best sound ever. He enjoyed this book a lot! <3