Old People, Frogs, and Albert

by Nancy Hope Wilson, Marcy D. Ramsey (Illustrator)

A boy overcomes his fear of reading and of the elderly

Nine-year-old Albert loves frogs, and he doesn't really have anything against old people -- he's just so uncomfortable around them, at least when they're sick. "Don't get too old," he writes to his grammy. Feisty Grammy holds her own, but elderly Mr. Spear, who helps Albert with his reading at school, is suddenly felled by a stroke and ends up in the very nursing home that Albert passes reluctantly on his way to and from school. Albert can hardly bear to visit Mr. Spear. Then, when Grammy sends him a book about frogs, Albert's reading reaches a new plateau -- as Mr. Spear had said it would -- and Albert races to the nursing home to share the news with Mr. Spear. Nancy Hope Wilson's pognant story is affectingly illustrated by Marcy D. Ramsey.

Genres: Juvenile

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Amber]

Adorable story for children to be brave, accept change and to not fear the differences of the aging community!

[Kathy McC]

Cute and heartwarming.

[Matthew]

A book with wonderful promise and a great storyline, it just ended way too soon. I wish the author would have explored Albert's emotions a little more and followed a logical path to conclusion. This would make this book a wonderful piece for helping students cope with misunderstood emotions about aging and death even.