Beware of the Frog

An old woman living alone at the edge of a dark, scary wood is protected by her pet frog. The creature easily handles any danger by swallowing each potential evildoer whole. The first villain to meet his fate is Greedy Goblin, followed by Smelly Troll, and finally Giant Hungry Ogre. As each bad guy nears Mrs. Collywobbles's house, he recites a rhyme themed along his unique characteristics. The tale ends with a wicked twist.

Chester

Mélanie Watt is NOT the author of this book--Chester, her plump calico cat with the big red marker, is. Mouse is NOT the star of the story. Chester uses his red marker to edit the story, sending Mouse on a vacation: "Hasta la vista, Mousie!" Mouse returns from Mexico with a big bulldog. Chester uses the power of the pen to make the dog vegetarian. Mélanie and Mouse try to take back control, but Chester edits himself a perfectly Chester-filled day. Mélanie rains on his parade, so Chester writes THE END.

Doctor Ted

Ted is one prepared bear. After bumping his knee one morning he wants a doctor, but with none in sight, he becomes one himself. Though he satisfactorily treats his booboo, his Doctor Ted persona is none too popular with the people around him. His offers to cure the principal's bad breath and his teacher's mumps (actually just chubby cheeks) are met with annoyance. However, the next day his services are required, when there's a playground accident involving his teacher. Feeling quite heroic, Doctor Ted is entirely satisfied upon getting into bed that night. Ted is ready the next morning--not to become a doctor again, but rather a fireman.

Duck at the Door

When his flock migrates south for the winter, Max opts to stay behind-and quickly regrets it. Luckily, Irene and her pets live nearby in a cozy house, so the quirky duck makes himself right at home for the season, and proves to be a bit of a pest. Just when everyone has had their fill of Max's favorite TV shows, blanket hogging, and experimental cuisine, spring arrives, and he leaves to reunite with his flock-and, naturally, the entire household feels his absence.

Duck! Rabbit!

“Hey, look! A duck!” “That’s not a duck. That’s a rabbit!” Then the back and forth begins, with the duck quacking while the rabbit is sniffing, the duck eating bread, the rabbit munching a carrot. In the most clever spread, readers turn the book vertically to see the duck getting a drink of water, while the rabbit cools its ears.

First the Egg

"First the EGG / then the CHICKEN / First the TADPOLE / then the FROG" and so on with seed and flower, caterpillar and butterfly. Seeger then proceeds to more abstract pairs -- "First the WORD / then the STORY / First the PAINT / then the PICTURE" -- making them concrete for the youngest viewers by incorporating objects mentioned in the preceding pages into both story and picture. The ending is circular -- well, almost, because who really knows which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Hen Hears Gossip

When Hen overhears a conversation between Pig and Cow, she can't wait to tell her friends. But she gets it all confused as she passes it on to Duck, and he muddles it even more as he passes it on to Goose, who tangles the tale again when passing it on to Turkey. So by the time Turkey returns to Hen, there's a very different story from the one she started. "Hen! Hen! You're lazy, fat, and ate all the corn." Poor Hen is outraged and as she and her friends untangle the tale, they discover the real news from Cow. "My baby calf was born!"

Hit the Ball Duck

The story begins with Duck batting in a pickup game of baseball. When the ball he hits gets stuck in a tall tree, he tosses up his bat and a glove to knock it down, and soon all three are caught in the branches. At the story's outset, little Frog is dismissed as too small for ball with his bigger friends, but he surprises Goat, Sheep, and Duck with a clever play at the story's end.

I Know An Old Teacher

When faced with a long weekend, Miss Bindley decides to bring the class pets home with her, promising her students she'll take good care of them. But when a flea falls from her unkempt hair into her tea and she inadvertently swallows it, she has to get rid of it somehow. So she swallows the spider that crawls down her wall in the hopes that it will gobble the flea. The spying students cannot believe their eyes as the creatures their teacher swallows get larger and more beloved--they are the class pets, after all! When at last all the pets are gone, a student spies Miss Bindley staring at his friend. " 'Swallow a child?' / The old teacher smiled... / 'I would never do that!' "

Jazz Baby

When Daddy puts a vinyl record labeled Jazz Baby on the turntable, the whole family gets into the sound, including the baby in his crib: "Brother's hands tap. Sister's hands snap. Itty-bitty Baby's hands CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!" The rhythmic text continues with everyone singing and dancing until finally it's a "snoozy-woozy baby" who has dropped off to sleep at last.

Library Mouse

Sam the mouse lives in the library and reads books at night. Sam loves all genres of books, and one night he decides to write his own stories. Sam begins leaving his books one by one on the library shelves for the children to read. The books become so popular with the children that they want to meet the author of these mysterious additions to the library shelves. The librarian leaves a note for the author, asking to meet him. Sam has a surprise answer in store!

Peanut

Mildred might want to make an appointment with her eye doctor. While on a visit to the park, she finds and adopts a lost "dog." It's an awfully strange dog, though: It has a long trunk, is gray all over and loves nuts. Mildred loves her new pet Peanut and is devastated when a visiting circus ringmaster claims the elephant as a member of his circus. Mildred goes to see the show and realizes Peanut is truly in his element, and she feels lonely until she sees a "kitty in the park."

Scaredy Squirrel

Charts show a few of the things that Scaredy Squirrel is scared of: tarantulas, killer bees, and sharks. Bulleted lists demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of never leaving his tree. Timelines with days of the week show the predictability of his life, and other timelines show his daily routine. Step-by-step instructions show his emergency preparedness, and there's even an emergency exit plan included. Of course, an emergency occurs and the squirrel is capable of quite an amazing feat- flying.

Slugs in Love

Too timid to approach Herbie face-to-face, shy slug Marylou uses her slime trail to write love poems to him and leave them around the garden. Herbie responds to each of her poems with a rhyme of his own, but a series of unforeseeable circumstances prevents Marylou from finding them. The hoe he has written on is put in the barn, rain washes away his verse on the fence, and he composes on a melon while Marylou is spending the day in the squash patch. Desperate to meet the sweet poet, Herbie composes a final message on a tall tomato plant. At last, Marylou sees it; the two slugs meet and fall in love.

The Boy Who Wouldn't Share

Edward, a "frightful boy," will not share any toys with his younger sister. When she touches something, he cries, "IT'S MINE. MINE. MINE!" Overcome by greed, he gets stuck in his tangle of toys and misses the opportunity for homemade fudge. Claire, not one to hold grudges, helps free her brother and shares her chocolate. After Edward apologizes, the siblings spend the day playing happily.

The Doghouse

The barnyard animals are playing with a red ball that accidentally rolls into the doghouse. Who's going to get it out? Mouse says Cow is big, brave, and strong, and must go first. Cow goes in but does not come out. Pig tries next, as Mouse deems him smart, wise, and stinky. Pig takes offense at the "stinky" designation, but proceeds into the doghouse. Pig does not return either. Duck, as the loudest, goes next-and disappears just like the others. The only one left outside, Mouse timidly calls out, "Can't you come out, Duck?"-upon which Dog appears in the doorway and says, "No! Because I am having duck for dinner." Mouse assumes the worst.

The Gold-Miner's Daughter

Gracie Pearl is sent to town in a desperate search. There she finds that evil Bigglebottom, the banker, has seized the Golden Goose, tricked Rumpelstiltskin into a violent departure, sicced his trio of bears onto Goldilocks and for good measure tied three pigs to the railroad tracks for nonpayment of housing loans. None of these figures play any significant role, however; they just act as filler until, when the banker returns to claim his due, Gracie Pearl fights back so hard that the ground cracks and up comes a "black gold" gusher.

The Three Little Gators

To protect themselves from the Big-bottomed Boar, the alligators build their houses with the usual materials (rocks, sticks, and sand). Encountering the sand house, the Big-bottomed Boar follows through on his threat to “wiggle my rump with a bump, bump, bump and smash your house!” The result: “Sand flew everywhere” while the Little Gator escapes “faster than a fox after a muskrat” to the stick house, and so on.

Turtle's Penguin Day

After hearing a bedtime story about penguins, Little Turtle decides to become one. The next day he dons red slippers and his grandfather’s black jacket and sets off for school, where his teacher, Ms. Dog, and classmates are remarkably accommodating: all day they read penguin books, practice passing balls (the way penguins do with their eggs) and toboggan down the playground slide.

Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?

"Eeny, meeny, miney, moe!/Who ate all the cookie dough?" a kangaroo asks various animal friends as she searches for the culprit. Each creature denies the theft and joins Kanga in the hunt. Monkey seems the likely suspect until the critters lead Kanga and readers to a lift-up flap that reveals her pouched joey licking a spoon.