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Frog’s Rainy Day Story is a collection of modern-day fables exposing contemporary follies in an amusing and discussion-worthy way.
*Frog’s Rainy-Day Story and Other Fables by Michael James Dowling, illustrated by Sarah Beulah Dowling. Focus on the Family (Tyndale), 2025. 71 pages.
- Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8
- Recommended For: Ages 4-12
On a drippy day, Frog decides to make productive use of his indoor time by writing a story. He’s hardly begun, though, when the letters on the page rebel. “We’re sick and tired of being used!” declaims an irate O. Each letter wants to decide for itself and feel significant in its own way. But they’ve forgotten what they were created to do, as frog reminds them. The moral: We’re made for a much larger story/ Which we miss if we seek our own glory.
The letters take wise words to heart, but in the next story Duck refuses to accept good advice and struts toward disaster. A group of barnyard animals ruin a good idea by each insisting on its own idea, a turtle lets self-improvement slogans get the better of him, an owl decides he’s wise enough to solve everyone’s problems but his, and a rabbit mistakes gullibility for trust and generosity.
Each story ends with a rhyming moral and quotes of culture-makers from Aristotle to Oprah, contrasted with biblical wisdom. Discussion questions help kids get at the meaning and apply it to themselves (and also make good family-devotion material). The stories are succinct and clever, complemented perfectly by the whimsical and colorful illustrations. The morals ring true without heavy-handedness, and just may land in a place where they’ll be remembered.
Considerations: none
Bottom Line: A fun family read-aloud to get kids thinking about the deceptions of the age they live in.
Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader
- Review: We also like Wise Words by Peter Leithart, a similar story collection.
- Review: For more direct instruction, you may enjoy Faith Builder Catechism.
- Review: The Long Road Home by Sarah Walton is another recent picture book with much spiritual truth.
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You can purchase Frog’s Rainy-Day Story and Other Fables on Amazon.
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