Sue DeGennaro

A young boy who loves to dress up as a cat meets a young girl named Camille who loves numbers, and the two become friends despite their differences. When he finds himself chased by his dog Dodie once too often, Camille suggests the boy switch to a frog costume, and the change works wonders. Then the boy loses patience while working on fitting Camille with her own frog costume, and it looks like their friendship is over. Can he put things right...?

Originally published in Sue DeGennaro's native Australia, The Pros & Cons of Being a Frog pairs an engaging and ultimately heartwarming tale of friendship with humorous and quite lovely illustrations. I appreciated the point, highlighted at the end of the tale, that the boy and girl are friends because of their differences, rather than in spite of them. I also appreciated the author/illustrator's dexterous use of type to convey such messages as this. The artwork here, created using collage, crayon, pencil and ink, is beautifully done, using a subtle color palette and lots of numbers to convey Camille's emotional state. It's easy to see why this one was an award-winner in Australia! Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories addressing themes of friendship, tolerance, and forgiveness.… (more)