The Great Frog Race: And Other Poems

Kristine O'Connell George does a wonderful job expressing her loveof poetry in The Great Frog Race. Each of the poems have a relaxed and calming feeling that describe the world in a way not often seen by most people. From a monkey wrench to a falling star, a dropped ice cream cone to an old winter swing, she brings life to objects across the farm. The warm illustrations help add to the relaxing feel of the book.
I really enjoyed this book and the descriptions of everyday objects such as a plowed field or a dragon fly. So many of life's simple, yet beautiful objects are brought to the attention of the reader. I would use this book when doing a unit on nature or when writing poetry. It could also be used in art to show how pictures can show more describe poetry so simply. show less

What a beautiful collection of poetry. Kristine O'Connell George makes the imagery come alive for someone like me who doesn't quite 'get' poetry. Garden Hose is fun and so imaginative. She even makes you wince a little for the character of Ambush.

The Great Frog race is a collection of poems. The setting for all of the poems is on a farm. “Zeke, An Old Farm Dog” talks about the life of a dog on a farm. The poem “Metal Bucket” points out that no one knows where the metal buckets come from, they just arrive and stay.

This collection of poems brought a different perspective to how we see things on a farm. I enjoyed the illustrations as well as the poems.

In the classroom I would incorporate these poems with farm week. I would discuss with the students what a dog’s life on a farm is. Then I would play the game “A Dogs Life” students make two lines. The teacher says go, one student will tell something a dog does; the other student must act it out. Whichever student says it show more first doesn’t have to act it out. show less

Kristine O'Connell George writes from observation. She takes very basic concepts and turns them into an art form. Young children can be inspired to write their own poetry from simple concepts.

Summary: This collection of poetry is about the outdoors, nature, and farm life. The Great Frog Race was the name of the collection and this poem was about a group of kids who found a big group of frogs and decided to race them and the frogs hopped away afterwards. Another one that I enjoyed was Weeping Willow, it was about a girl who enjoyed to look at the Weeping Willow that was in her front yard, and how one day she found out why it was named weeping for when it lost it's leaves it looked like piles of tears.

Personal Reaction: I'm not a big poetry fan, but I did enjoy this collection. I felt like I could relate to it a lot I grew up in South Carolina and saw a lot of weeping willows and frogs everywhere. I think that books of poetry show more like this one can help young children become interested in poetry who enjoy being outside and live on a farm/country.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Share some of these poems as you are teaching Science or nature and then have students make their own poem about something they like in nature an animal, plant, etc.
2. For a music class share the "Music Class" poem and have students write a poem about one of their favorite instruments and illustrate. Then hang around classroom. show less

This book is a collection of great poems. The poems are of all different subjects rather than just one theme. There are poems about the farm, seasons, school, frogs, rain, bugs, gardens, tools, animals, and stars. My favorites of the book are Ghost Children, Rent-a-Horse, and Sunday Drive With Mom. Ghost Children is a poem about ghost children who are like to swing on the swing set while their ghost mom is rocking in a rocking chair. Rent-a-Horse is about a kid who is stuck on top of a stallion and dreams of the horse galloping with the wind through their hair. Sunday Drive with Mom is a funny poem about how they drive down a road and take a mysterious turn and end up lost.

I loved this book! There are a variety of poems in here, but show more are all mostly rhyming. The majority of the poems were funny and were talking about everyday things, so most people can relate to at least one poem. I am a big horse fanatic and dreamer (I do not own a horse either) , so I can relate to the poem Rent-a-Horse. I liked the poem Sunday Drive With Mom because I thought it was funny of how they get lost (which happens to me a lot), but the fact that they were lost again made it even funnier! These poems give the authors viewpoint of how they like the rain or the farm, etc.

If I had to use this in a classroom, I would use this book as an example of the many subjects that poems can be based on other than love poems (although all poems show your emotions about the subject). I would have the kids write their own poems and tell of what there emotions were on a different piece of paper. I would than have the students read them aloud and would critique them and see if their peers can say what the emotion(s) were. show less

SUMMARY:
This is a book with a collection of poems about nature and objects. The poem Zeke, an Old Farm House is about a dog which does what most dogs would do given an opportunity. It also talked about the owner not fencing her dog and allowing it to do whatever it pleases. In other words, giving freedom to make its own choices.

Personal:
I chose this selection because it allows me to imagine a little more and reminds me of my childhood days. It talks about nature and allows one to visualize what the animal or object is thinking and feeling. The colors used in the illustrations make me feel nostalgic. I particularly liked this poem because it reminds me of certain times I crave for freedom to do whatever I please. I would definitely show more recommend this book for Grades one to grade four.

Classroom:
I would allow the class to use an object or something in nature, to create a collection of poems.
They can also publish a poem in the school's magazine every week. show less