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PICTURE BOOKS
James, Matt

Tadpoles

40 pp. | Holiday/Porter | May, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780823450053 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780823455478 $11.99
(2) K-3 In this childlike, stream-of-consciousness narrative, James's (Nice Try, Charlie!, rev. 9/20) opening illustration depicts a child exiting a door, on the way to meet his father at his new place. There the two explore a nearby abandoned field teeming with frogs and tadpoles. It's the rainy season; first small, then larger puddles form. With great certainty the child tells readers about these creatures and their surroundings. "My dad says puddles like this are called ephemeral ponds. That means they won't last for very long." Here frogs hatch into tadpoles ("Frog eggs are called spawn," the boy relates), but not all thoughts are as certain. He shares how scared he was when his father moved out, scared that he wouldn't love him anymore, but the father reassures him that "some things never change." James's mixed-media illustrations in gouache, acrylics, and collage show both the factual and emotional parts of the text. The outside setting, rain-drenched and sweeping, depicts the science of which the child is so certain. But a sequence of small, intimate frames addresses his insecurities about his father, slowing down the action and encouraging readers to ponder these thoughts. Information on the life cycle of frogs and ephemeral ponds, an author's note about his own childhood explorations, and additional reading suggestions expand the text. This multilayered book comes full circle as the boy returns to the original door and his mother's warm embrace.
Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

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