The Caterpillar and the Polliwog

Perfect language builds up the jokes and the excitement. I laughed out loud at 'Fish know things. They go to school.' And I got so involved in the story I had to go back a few pages to see the polliwog's (tadpole, according to my upbringing) metamorphosis.

The only thing I was disappointed in was that the frog and butterfly didn't interact more - but then again they wouldn't in real life, either!

The caterpillar and the polliwog brag to one another that they will see change in themselves. Then the polliwog waits to see the caterpillars change. When she becomes a butterfly she notices the polliwog is a handsome frog. This is a sweet story with lightly toned illustrations. Has a lot of science aspects, with included terms such as polliwog, cocoon, and the inclusion of metamorphosis.
Ages: 4-8 years
Pierce County Library

I really enjoyed this book. I liked this book because of the plot and because of the characters. The plot was well thought out and was easy to follow. In the story there was a caterpillar who went around bragging to everyone that she was going to change into something else and a polliwog who finds out that he, too, is going to change into something else. To me, as the reader, it was clear that he was going to turn into a frog, but I enjoyed how the plot went along as the polliwog discovered this for himself. It wasn't quite suspenseful because of my prior knowledge, but it was exciting to see how he would find out that he would turn into a frog, instead of the butterfly that he thought he was going to turn into after the caterpillar show more told him that is what she was going to turn into. The story ends with the polliwog transforming into a frog, without even knowing it because he was too busy watching the caterpillar in her cocoon and he feels proud of what he has become. I enjoyed this because it was fun to read and easy to follow along with. I also liked this story because of the polliwog character. The author created him to be very likeable, by making him humble and patient, unlike the caterpillar. I think that this story gives the important message that if we focus so much on what other people are doing, we might not realize the important things that are happening around/to us. show less

The book has a caterpillar that is bragging about how she (alone!) will change into something else. When she comes across a polliwog (i.e. tadpole) who wants to change to. He mentions this to a passing fish who responds, that yes - he will change also. The caterpillar is bummed that she is not the only creature that will change. And the polliwog assumes that he will change into a butterfly since he is making a change also. A good story to talk about frogs and caterpillars in the spring and how they change. Program worthy I think though more for like a pre-k group rather than elementary school. I gave this a keyword of about me since both the caterpillar and the polliwog learn about themselves along the way.

I enjoyed this book very much. One reason i liked it was because of its way of teaching about metamorphosis. Throughout the story you learn how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and how a tadpole turns into a frog. For example, there is a page in the book that reads, "So when the time came, the caterpillar started to spin a cocoon. 'This is the tricky part.' she said." This shows how the book adds small information into the story. I also enjoyed this book for its message. The main idea of the book is that change is a god thing. This message is a great lesson for the reader while they are learning about metamorphosis. At the end of the book the frog can't stop looking at his reflection because he loves hos change so much.

The books talks about a caterpillar that is boosting to all the other pond animals that she is will turn into something different when she grows up. She boost to a tadpole who, in turn tells her he is turning into a butterfly as well. This story falls under determining importance because child have to pick out the important details, such as what the butterfly is turning into, what the tadpole is turning into. The children have to distinguish that the frog although thinks he is turning into a butterfly grows legs and loses his tail along the story.

A caterpillar boasts to all the pond creatures that when she grows up she will change into a beautiful butterfly. When the polliwog hears this he finds out that he will change as well – into a butterfly.