Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of Literary Litter:
The Frog That Lost His Croak
by Anne Toole
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1478764137
Synopsis:
A little frog who loved to croak night and day, was very sad when his croak suddenly went away. While waiting and hoping for his croak to return, what valuable lessons did the little frog learn?
Critique:
A little frog who loved to croak night and day,
Was very sad when his croak suddenly went away.
While waiting and hoping for his croak to return,
What valuable lessons did the little frog learn?(taken from the back of the book)
I like the pictures because it helps you understand what they’re saying in the text. I like that it rhymes because it’s easier to read. Then again, it’s also more fun to read.
There aren’t too many words per page, but there are some pages that have a little bit more than others. This book didn’t take very long to read.
I think kids about five or older would enjoy this book. Possibly younger children, if their parents read it to them.
You can predict what’s going to happen in the story from the title. I liked it because it gave you a heads up on what the book was going to be about.
How the little frog lost his croak, well he was croaking too much but he was also croaking in the rain. So the rain could have been how he lost his croak. I think the frog learned that he was noisy because he was croaking all the time and I think he was upset because he learned that he wasn’t listening to the other animals.
In my opinion, you can learn from books that have life lessons. This book was good because it had a life lesson in it.
[ reviewed Ashlee of Literary Litter ]
Here’s what other reviewers are saying:
We’ve all known people who couldn’t stop showing off or bragging about themselves, and it happens with characters in stories, too. In this instance, it is a little frog who has a loud croak that he uses all day long. All the other animals are very tired of listening to him, but he is oblivious to their feelings and indulges himself all the time. When he loses his voice, he is forced to listen to the world around him and notice things like the beauty of birdsong or the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. By the time his croak is restored, he has learned to appreciate the sounds around him, to croak less and listen more.
This is similar to Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish with the proud character so taken with himself and his abilities (or appearance), that he has no time to make friends or listen to anyone else. And just like the Rainbow Fish, the little frog has to learn his lesson before his situation can change. The story is told in rhyme and supported with brightly colored illustrations. Some of the wording may seem a bit awkward to adult readers, but the target audience of beginning readers will probably not notice.
Author Anne Toole was a first grade teacher and ESOL instructor before she began writing children’s books. She understands the issues that children deal with on a daily basis – making friends, what makes them special, fitting in, etc. This is the type of story that parents, teachers, and guidance counselors can read with a child (or a group), and then discuss the moral of the story.
– Amazon Reviewer Suzanne R. Costner
There was very little about the book on Amazon. It would be nice if a little more was entered about the book and author. The little paperback has 26 pages (unnumbered). It would be suitable to those learning to read or the little ones you read to. It has a lesson to be learned about boasting. The illustrator made some colorful and bright pictures to go with the story. The story, like most of Ms. Toole’s is in rhyme. This is nice, since it keeps the little one’s attention. The little frog that had a lesson to learn finds out that no one likes him since he has bragged too much. He learns to listen instead of croaking and discovers a valuable lesson. This is a easy to read book that will help teach the little ones that not everything is always about them but to think of others too.This is a great little book for your child’s bookshelf to be read and re-read.
– Amazon reviewer gayle pace
Thanks for reading! Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!
Self Publishing Advisor
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