Freddy the Frogcaster

July 15, 2013
A weather-loving frog finds a forecasting career in his future after he saves the town picnic. Freddy's loved weather from a very young age--his first word was "rain." He uses his backyard weather station to make predictions and checks them against the forecasts of Sally Croaker on the Frog News Network, and he is uncannily right. But when Sally goes on maternity leave, Freddy's forecasts no longer match those on TV--Polly Woggins, the new frogcaster, is frequently wrong in her predictions. Her popularity keeps her too busy to look for weather clues. So when the mayor needs an accurate forecast for the Leapfrog Picnic, he turns to Freddy, whose years of practice give him the confidence and knowledge to prepare the Frogatorium for a thunderstorm and be Polly's new assistant. While the story is lengthy and littered with exclamation points, Dean, a meteorologist herself, knows her stuff. Six pages of backmatter use easy vocabulary and explanations to introduce weather words, maps, instruments, types of clouds and the job of a meteorologist (though it's a shame this wasn't better incorporated into the text). Still, Freddy's confidence and enthusiasm are catching, and readers may find themselves keeping their own weather logs and browsing the publisher's website for directions on making weather-forecasting instruments (not seen). Cox's seemingly digital illustrations are bright and cheerful, and each frog has his or her own expressive face and personality. The forecast is for frequent checkouts for Freddy during weather-study units. (Picture book. 5-9)

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January 1, 2014
Freddy the frog loves weather and wows his classmates, teachers, and entire town with his amazing weather-prediction abilities. He soon outshines Frog News Network's celebrity newscaster, Polly Woggins, when he saves the day at the local Leapfrog Picnic. Slick illustrations accompany an over-long, purposive narrative. A glossary on weather-related terms (not incorporated into the story) is appended.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)