City Dog, Country Frog

Written by Mo Willems

Illustrated by Jon J Muth

Bibliographic data

Willems, Mo. 2010. City Dog, Country Frog. Ill. By Jon J. Muth. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9781423103004

Plot Summary

This is a touching tale of a dog from the city and a frog from the country that become friends. They first meet in spring when the dog first runs free in the country. Over the seasons, the frog teaches the dog frog games, and the dog teaches the frog dog games. Things soon change for the frog and the dog, and the dog ends up with a slightly different friend.

Critical Analysis

Muth does a great job in his use of watercolors in his illustrations. The pictures are beautiful and allow the reader to really visualize the story. The vibrant colors are very true to the natural seasons.

The spring and summer illustrations are very bright with more than just green coloring. As the fall season approaches the colors become darker, and the frog’s color becomes muted. This is an indication of the frog growing old. There is also a similarity in the coloring of the frog and the colors of the dying trees. It is never said that the frog passes away, but the illustrations elude the reader to this conclusion. Another indication of the frogs dying is the picture in the clouds of the two friends remembering the games they played. As the story comes to an end and the dog meets the chipmunk, the reader can see the complete cycle that the dog has gone through with the frog and started with his new friend.

Willems’ simple and effective text and Muth’s delicate illustrations allow the readers to have an emotional relationship with the characters. This is a very touching story of friendship and a must read for all ages.

Review excerpts

v Starred review in School Library Journal: “Making expert use of color and texture, Muth’s expressive paintings clearly convey the tale’s emotional nuances.”

v Starred review in Booklist: “It’s hard to imagine a picture book that more consistently (and touchingly) hits all the right notes.”

v New York Times “…picture-book writing at its best.”

Connections

v Have students make predictions about what the book is about after just looking at the book cover.

v Have students research each animal in the book, describe their natural habitat, and create more frog and dog games than what are presented in book.

v Extend the discussion of the four seasons and discuss what the seasons represent.