Synopsis
A new adventure from the author of "Once There Was a Bull ... (frog)."
Children's Literature
Bullfrog eats his way through Ravenous Gulch in a cliffhanger page-turning tale. Through the witty use of verbs that change from intransitive to transitive, the story alters its meanings in surprising ways. The clever illustrations carry out this trick. For example, after stealing a pizza from Starvin' Marvin, "Bullfrog tried to hide . . . [page ends] the pizza." The page ending in ". . ." shows Bullfrog in what looks like dense dark grass with the pizza flipped over his head; but as the page turns, we see that Bullfrog is actually on top of a bull's head and the pizza is supported by the bull's horns. So the adventure continues with Bullfrog chased by many townsfolk whose food he has eaten until they decide he would make a good candidate for the County Super Eater Contest. They test his limits by feeding him even more food until his body looks as if it's about to burst. The last food he's handed is a bunch of grapes: "And then, Bullfrog POPPED . . ." Children should enjoy the picture book and come to an intuitive understanding of the verb game. It's the kind of book that bears many rereadings.