The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog; Mission Ziffoid

These two titles are from a set of some two dozen ‘Giggle Club’ books, ‘made to put a giggle into early reading’, and good value at £1.99 apiece. There is a nice feeling of ‘belonging’ – the books have space to write your name in the front, a joke loosely related to the story, and a checklist of titles to tick off as you read.

The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog is a traditional tale with a repetitive structure, illustrated with cheerful, if at times crudely drawn, cut-outs. The eponymous frog bounces up to all sorts of animals and asks them ‘Who are you, and what do you eat?’, until he meets a crocodile whose answer turns him into a small, narrow-mouthed frog… Mission Ziffoid tells an appealing tall story in ‘good news/bad news’ format. Perhaps not quite as hilarious as the blurb suggests, but good fun nevertheless, appropriately illustrated.

Despite the minor irritation that the ‘house-style’ chosen for the ‘welcome’ page and the joke is at odds with the illustration in either of these examples, I feel that they achieve their stated aim and could make a welcome addition to school or home collections.