Frog in Love

Story

Frog feels funny, he’s hot then he’s cold and his heart is thumping faster than usual. Hare diagnoses the problem…He’s in love! But who with? Poor Frog can’t pluck up the courage to declare his feelings so he decides on another course of action, with unexpected results. Thankfully things end happily because ‘love knows no boundaries’.

Why we chose it

Max Velthuijs uses beautifully simple illustrations to introduce young children to themes such as friendship, loyalty, prejudice, fear, love, and death.

Where it came from

Max Velthuijs (1923-2005) born in The Hague was one of the most famous children’s illustrator in the Netherlands, although he only began his full-time career as an author and illustrator for the young when he was 60.

Velthuijs said that he sees the animals in his books almost as his children – they have their own personalities and always have something of him in them. His books have been translated into many languages and are also available as dual language books.

Where it went next

In 1990 Frog in Love was awarded a Silver Slate Pencil Award and in 2004 Max received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his "lasting contribution to children's literature”. In 2003 Frog in Love was adapted as a children's play by David Farmer and performed by the Tiebreak Theatre Company at Norwich Playhouse.

Associated stories

There are 14 Frog books in the series, many dealing with challenging life issues. Frog and the Stranger addresses prejudice and understanding while Frog and the Birdsong tackles the mystery of death and the joy of life. Frog is a Hero was included in the British National Curriculum.

In 2003, to celebrate his 80th birthday a retrospective about Max Velthuijs’ work was organised in The Hague.