999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura

I love frog stories in first grade because like frogs, first graders are thrown into a world of many.  They need help understanding how community works as they begin living with lots of other students for a full day.  Fine As We Are by Algy Craig Hall (an old favorite)  and this new book I picked up at Barnes and Noble, 999 Tadpoles (don't you love the title... just reading and thinking about 999 is going to be a conversation in itself), both embrace the importance of living and working together.

In 999 Tadpoles, Mother and Father frog take their young frogs on a journey to toward safety in hopes of finding a new home.  In their adventures they learn about the dangers of the world as well as the importance of sticking together. Ken Kimura weaves in humor with his delightful story and the pictures by Yasunari Murakami are simple yet captivating.  I am excited to be adding it to my classroom library for next year.