Pistes d'exploration

Before reading, discuss what you are afraid of, and what you do when you’re scared. What could be the meaning of the title?

Read the book, but stop before the end. Predict what the frog used to fear.

Create a T-chart showing what each creature feared. Use both words and icons.

Notice how the creatures are variously seen from above, at level, and from underwater. Why might the illustrator do that?

Choose one or two verses to practise reading aloud. Print it out on a large class poster to choral read. Underline the rhyming words.

Before reading, discuss the meaning of the title. What you are afraid of, and what you do when you’re scared? As you read the text, make a list of the words related to fright.

Create a T-chart showing what each creature feared. Use both words and icons.

Make a list of the rhyming words.

Use one animal’s rendering of its fear as a model. Create a poem about your own fear. Recite it to a friend.

Two Frogs, Leon the Chameleon, Scaredy Squirrel

Mots-clés

Picture book , birds , ducks , forest animals , overcoming fears , stories in rhyme , taking risks

Commentaire descriptif

Little Chicken Duck is happy living beside the forest pond until the day Froggie invites her to jump into the water. When she confesses she is afraid to swim, he takes her into a forest glade where, one by one, other birds admit their deepest fears and how they overcame them. Bolstered by their tales of bravery, Little Chicken Duck is finally able to “waddle back to Froggie’s pad,” declaring “playing in the water’s not so bad.” Children will delight in the humorous ending that reveals Froggie’s own greatest fear as a pollywog—ducks! Told entirely in verse, this story is great for reading aloud, letting children experience the full effect of the internal and end rhyme built into each quatrain. Lively, vibrant spreads of acrylic artwork introduce readers to an eclectic cast of birds whose phobias include stage fright (lark), the dark (owl), getting wet (robin) and thunderstorms (bald eagle). This charming book-length poem serves as a gentle reminder that even adults have fears and that a little support and encouragement can go a long way in helping to overcome them.