The Teeny Weeny Tadpole (Book & CD) [Paperback]

I have to read this to my 15 month old twins, about ten times a day, they love it. There is just enough on each page to hold their interest, and I am not bored of it yet either!

....to learn the art of jumping, just like Mummy Frog!

From the back cover:-

'...."Mum, why can't I jump like you?" asked Tadpole.
"Oh but you will, Tadpole," said Mother Frog.
"You will. Just keep splishing and splashing!"

Every creature the teeny weeny tadpole meets seems to be able to jump, except him.
Then he meets the big bad fish, who can't jump - but he can swim very, very fast, and he eats little tadpoles..........'

Oh no!
Little faces in my reading corner audiences tend to look up in dismay........
but, don't worry........
It is all right at the end!

The Little Tiger Press version measures in at approximately 26 cm x 23 cm, with appealing paperback covers opening to 30 high quality shiny pages in the popular 2-page spread format.

Example of the lively and descriptive text :-

'The teeny weeny tadpole swam in and out of the lily pads.
Splish! Splash!
"Hello, my busy little tadpole," said Mother Frog.
"It's a lovely day for splashing!
And leaping...."

Boing! went Mother Frog high into the air.....
Flippity-flop, she landed with a plop!

"I could do that," said Tadpole and he tried to leap on to a lily pad.
All he managed was a splish and a splash.

"Mum, why can't I jump like you?" asked Tadpole.
"Oh but you will, Tadpole," said Mother Frog.
"You will. Just keep splishing and splashing!"....'

So the little tadpole swims off to splish and splash, noting his mother's warning about the big, bad fish. Over the course of the next few days Tadpole meets some others and enquires whether they can jump?

Boing!
and
Springity-sprong!

goes lamb....... in a practical demonstration...as he leaps across two pages!

Tadpole is suitably impressed!

....and so the story continues in similar fashion, offering plenty of opportunity to join in with the odd Boing! and the other main repeat elements:-

"Hello," said Tadpole.
"Who are you?"
and
"Can you jump?"

as the inquisitive Tadpole meets another creature!

The superb illustrations are further enhanced by meaningful facial expressions, and offer great scope for further discussion - e.g. feelings, especially with the rather large mouth of the big, bad fish........
which actually has a useful effect in helping little tadpole achieve his life-changing goal!

Young audiences tend to pick up additional information from the story without realising - e.g. the woolly-faced lamb, the twitchy-nosed rabbit and the bug-eyed grass-hopper!
The most observant spot the changes in the appearance of the 'teeny weeny tadpole', as the story progresses!

A super story, which is one of my favourites for reading out loud..... but a copy with the CD of the story is useful for those times when one wishes to follow the story, alone!

ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo ooOoo

The Teeny Weeny Tadpole : BOOK with CD VERSION:-

'Complete story with original music and sound effects'.

Safely enclosed in a plastic CD envelope on the flap at the back of the book, the CD runs for just over 16 minutes.
After around a two minute musical run in, the story is wittily narrated, with CRAIG KELLY doing the storylines along with the voices of Tadpole & Big, Bad Fish, and HELEN LEDERER doing the other narratives.
The music is twirly and reasonably dramatic, when required, suitably enhancing the narration.
The story is read through completely in the first half, at a good pace, then the opportunity to read-along is given on the second half of the CD, with a page turn sound and suitable delay to help younger reader/listeners.

Look out, also, for Smiley Shark, read by the same duo!

Another great book from Tiger Tales. I love sharing these with my grandchildren. If I'm busy, they are happy to listen to the cds which contain well read versions of the stories and happy music. This story helps to explain life-cycles too. We love it! Sorry I meant to give it 5 stars!