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ksoles
Nov 22, 2014ksoles rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The exuberant "Tale of a Tadpole" tells of a young girl, Francine, conscientiously caring for a tadpole named Fred. Young readers will both share Francine's excitement as she observes Fred's development and learn a surprising number of amphibious facts. Francine's family supports her project; her parents pipe in with encouraging comments and her sister makes constant references to fairy tales, noting Fred's resemblance to "a princelet with a tail." Porte deftly manages to intersperse scientific information into her story without lecturing and even with humour, as when hard-of-hearing grandpa meets the adult Fred and reveals his identity as a toad, not a frog as originally assumed. Cannon's sparkling watercolors evoke light summer days and depict both frames of Fred's progress and overhead perspectives of the family gathered around the fishtank. Once Fred can make it on his own, the family sets him free in a happy ending that teaches kindness and responsibility.