Froggy Plays Soccer

Froggy Plays Soccer is part of a series written by Jonathan London and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.  It was published in 1999.  The series follows Froggy, who often gets overexcited and has to face the consequences of his actions.  He usually learns a lesson and, fortunately, things work out in the end.

This particular book, Froggy Plays Soccer, follows his experience playing in a championship soccer game.  Froggy's father, the assistance coach, reminds him several times that he can't use his hands. Uh oh! Guess what happens... 😆

My oldest son loved this book.  He enjoys every installment we pick up from the library.  This was particularly fun, however, because it dealt with soccer and he and his dad love to play together.

I enjoy that the series has repeated elements: the way Froggy's name is said, the way he responds to being called, the process of him getting dressed, his excitement, and him becoming embarrassed.  The repeated phrases are fun for my two year old.  He can anticipate what's coming and can "read" those elements himself. Also, I appreciate that the adults in the book are understanding that Froggy makes mistakes.  They support him and give him second chances.  That's true of all of the Froggy books we read so far.

Froggy is usually addressed in this drawn out way, which is fun to read and imitate.  He always responds with a long, "What?" It's the way most children would respond when they're busy doing something!

To make this book explicitly educational, an adult could emphasize the rules for playing soccer that are explained in the book, along with the positions (like a goalie).  Also, adults can highlight the emotions shown through the text and illustrations.  For example, with older toddlers, we can explain to a child what it means to be "more red in the face than green."  When Froggy makes a mistake, we can pause and ask children what he should have done instead and what he can do to try to make things better.  Then, we can see what actually happens in the story and compare it to what the children suggested.

While my son liked this book a lot, I can see that it was meant for older children.  The paper pages can be easily ripped.  This is definitely a book we must read with him or we'll hear the riiiiip that means we need to talk to the librarian!

I recommend this book, along with Froggy's Day with Dad and Froggy Goes to the Library.  We plan on reading more in the series and hope they are as enjoyable!