1. Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Storieswritten and illustrated by Jeff Mack. New York,
Philomel Books, 2012
2. Summary: Frog likes to eat flies. In each story, he meets and interacts with a
fly before eating it. He even tricks a few of them. Then when it gets dark, he
thinks he is meeting another fly. However, he meets a bear that ends up
eating him!
3. Awards: Capitol Choices’ Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens list!
Selected for Pennsylvania Book Award, 2012
IRA Children’s Choices, Beginning Readers, 2013
4. Review: “PreS-Gr 2—Frog always seems to get the better of Fly in these
scenarios. But never fear, Fly outwits him in the end. Frog manages to set Fly
up for a punch line that involves Frog "slurping" him up in five funny ways. In
the last scene, though, Fly manages to get Frog to stick his tongue on a "frogslurping" bear and sees him slurped up in the end. Each of the short stories
has minimal text, making this book suitable for beginning readers, but the
humorous antics of Frog and Fly will be enjoyed by preschoolers as well.
Bright, cartoonlike illustrations fill the pages, some of which have two panels
clearly delineated by white frames, adding to the cartoon feel. This would be
a fun reader's theater for story time or classroom use.” – School Library
Journal
5. www.jeffmack.com
6. Jeff Mack is also the illustrator of the book.
7. Discussion Question:
a. What do you think this book could be about? What predictions can
you make before reading? What does the word ‘slurpy’ or ‘slurp’
mean?
b. Ask students to predict what will happen at the beginning of each
story. Will the fly ever become wiser or will the frog keep eating it? Do
you know why frogs like to eat flies so much?
c. What did you think about the book? Did you expect the ending or was
that a surprise? Does this help you understand certain things about
food chains?
8. Activities:
a. Reading/oral language – A pair of students can read the book to each
other. One student can be the frog and the other will be the other
characters.
b. Writing – Make your own short chapter story about your favorite
animal and their interaction with other animals.
c. Math – Research to find how much food frogs/toads need a day and
what amount are bugs.
d. Science – Analyze the food chain of a frog. What do they eat and what
eats them?
One example of a frog food chain, with a lesson plan http://www.landcarevic.net.au/resources/for-schools/landcareeducation-archive/Frog%20Food%20chain.pdf
Frog Food Chain game http://opahk.oceanpark.com.hk/pdf/en/teacher/Activity13_Eng.pdf
e. Social Studies – Research and study what kinds of frogs/toads are
living in your area/region.
e. Art – Incorporate this with the science lesson by using different boxes
to draw out the food chain.
http://www.frog-life-cycle.com/frog-coloring-pages.html - free
coloring pages
f. Music – Have students listen and learn the “five little speckled frogs”
nursery rhyme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVPmtaHmL4g&safe=active
g. Physical Education – Play a game of tag. One student starts as the frog
and the rest are the flies. When the frog tags the fly, they sit down and
are then out for the rest of the round.
9. Related Books
a. Days With Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
b. Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout by Megan McDonald, illustrated by
Peter H. Reynolds
c. The Frog and the Fly by Heather Webb, illustrated by Constance
Sanderson
10. Other books by Jeff Mack include:
a. Ah Ha!
b. The Things I Can Do
c. Good News Bad News
d. Cindy Moo
11. Jeff Mack is also the illustrator or all these books.
12. Engaging websites
a. What Do Frogs Eat and What Eats Frogs? http://www.frog-lifecycle.com/what-frogs-eat.html This website describes interesting
facts about frogs, including what they eat, how they catch their food,
and their predators. It has some wonderful links including pictures
and diagrams.
b. Some Strange but True Facts about Frogs and Toads.
http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/weird.html This website has a many
different categories of facts about frogs and toads.
c. Frogs and Toads at Enchanted Learning.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/frog.shtml This website
offers a lot of options for crafts and other engaging activities for kids.