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Searching... Dallas Public Library | + PRESCHOOL - KELLOGG | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Louis's Scottish uncle brings him the birthday gift of a tadpole, plucked right out of Loch Ness. But it soon becomes clear that this "tadpole" is not turning into an ordinary frog! It'll take a little help from friends and a lot of ingenuity to feed and shelter this unusual, ever-growing pet. "The Mysterious Tadpole," with its giddy mix of fantasy, adventure, and high humor, is one of Steven Kellogg's most popular books. It was an ALA Notable, an IRA-CBC Children's Choice, and won the Irma Simonton Black Award. For its anniversary, Steven has reworked aspects of the story and has created entirely new artwork in the bright, bold colors that weren't reproducible twenty-five years ago. He discusses why he wanted to revise the book in a lively author's note.
Author Notes
Stephen Kellogg was born in Norwalk, Connecticut on October 26, 1941. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and majored in illustration. While in college, he won a fellowship to spend his senior year studying and working in Florence, Italy.
Kellogg has illustrated over one hundred titles and written some of his own. Titles he has written include the Island of the Skog, which won the Michigan State Young Readers Award, and was included on Booklist's Books for Every Child and the CBC Books for Peace list, A Rose for Pinkerton!, Pinkerton, Behave!, and Tallyho, Pinkerton!
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Louis receives a little tadpole as a birthday gift from his uncle McAllister. Affectionately named Alphonse, the tadpole comes from Scotland and has an appetite for cheeseburgers. Is it his diet that makes him grow the way he does? Or something more mysterious? Louis must find a way to accommodate his enormous pet, which he does with the help of his friend Ms. Seevers, the librarian. This amusing and imaginative story written and illustrated by Steven Kellogg recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The special edition book (Penguin, 2002) includes new illustrations by Kellogg. Kevin Free superbly narrates the audio version of the new edition, using amusing voices for the characters and a proper Scottish accent for Uncle McAllister. One side of the cassette includes page-turn signals and the other is straight narration. Since the text relies heavily on the illustrations, listeners must have the book available. -April Mazza, Wayland Free Public Library, MA(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Several reissued titles will be welcomed by fans of their celebrated authors and artists. Louis gets the gift that keeps on giving or growing, rather in The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg. The story about a boy and his burgeoning birthday present returns in a 25th-anniversary edition featuring revised text and full-color illustrations. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Kellogg has created new illustrations for and rewritten his story of Louis's mysterious tadpole that grows into a Loch Ness monster. The humor and exaggeration are still intact, and both the energetic, newly colorful art and the text contains more dialogue. This increased clarity comes at the expense of the nuances and surprises of the original edition. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Kellogg tosses off one fantasy within another, as Alphonse, the tadpole Louis' Scottish uncle sends him for his birthday, develops into something more like a dinosaur than a frog and the authorities refuse to allow Louis to keep his pet in the junior high school swimming pool. But Miss Seevers the librarian, who discovers that Alphonse comes from Loch Ness, knows where a pirate treasure ship was sunk in a 1639 battle, and with her help Alphonse and Louis retrieve a chest full of coins--enough to turn a neighboring parking lot into a pool for Alphonse and all the local kids. A stock situation, right up to the enormous egg that arrives for Louis' next birthday--but Kellogg's zesty embellishments propel it along. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS^-Gr. 2. For the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of The Mysterious Tadpole, Kellogg offers a somewhat expanded version of the story along with new artwork. As before, Louis receives a birthday present from his uncle in Scotland: Alphonse, an amiable tadpole that outgrows his bowl, the bathtub, and even the apartment. In the new version, Louis enrolls Alphonse (in his dog-size phase) in obedience school as "a hairless spotted water spaniel from Scotland," bolstering the plot a little and adding some Pinkertonesque scenes. In the appended author's note, Kellogg mentions that the "economics of printing" in 1977 demanded preseparation of colors in the art. Whether the result of technological progress or of changes in Kellogg's style over the last quarter century, the new illustrations are bigger, bolder, brighter, and brimming with lively details. Some may miss the muted tones of the original art, but odds are that children will find the new edition irresistible. --Carolyn Phelan