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Stop That Frog! #3

Part of Here's Hank

Illustrated by Scott Garrett
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Paperback
$6.99 US
5.13"W x 7.56"H x 0.3"D   | 5 oz | 108 per carton
On sale Oct 09, 2014 | 128 Pages | 9780448481524
Age 6-8 years | Grades 1-3
Reading Level: Fountas & Pinnell O
Hank's class gets to take care of Principal Love's pet frog while he's away, and Hank is thrilled when he's selected to take it home for the weekend. But when he forgets to put the top back on the tank, Hank's excitement quickly turns to panic--the frog has escaped! The frog hunt is on, but time is running out. Hank needs to find that frog, and fast!
Henry Winkler is an acomplished actor, producer, and director. He is most well known for playing The Fonz on the American sitcom Happy Days. In 2003, Henry added author to his list of acheivements as he coauthored a series of children's books. Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is based on the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences. Henry is married to Stacey Weitzman and they have three children. View titles by Henry Winkler
Lin Oliver is a children’s book author and writer/producer of numerous television series and movies for children. With Henry Winkler, she writes the New York Times bestselling book series, Hank Zipzer: World’s Best Underachiever, which has sold over 4 million copies and is a hit television series on the BBC. Their new chapter book series, Here’s Hank, is also a New York Times bestseller.  She is also the author of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk quartet, Sound Bender and The Shadow Mask, adventure/science fiction middle grade novels she coauthored with Theo Baker. Her collection of poetry, the highly praised Little Poems for Tiny Ears, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, is being followed with another poetry collection, Steppin’ Out: Playful Rhymes for Toddler Times. Oliver is the cofounder and Executive Director of SCBWI.  View titles by Lin Oliver

“Today is a very special Wednesday,” Ms. Flowers said to our class. “Can anyone tell me why?”

My hand shot up high in the air. “Because I changed my underpants this morning!” I shouted out proudly, without even waiting to be called on.

The whole class burst out laughing.

“As you can see, Hank,” Ms. Flowers said, “we are all very pleased for you. But your underpants are not exactly what I had in mind.”

Before she could call on anyone else, our classroom door swung open, and Principal Love came in. He was carrying a tall glass tank with a bunch of leafy green plants at the bottom. As usual, he was wearing his Velcro sneakers, which squeaked when he walked in.

“Class, everyone say hello to Principal Love,” Ms. Flowers said.

“Good morning, Principal Love,” we all said at the same time.

“And don’t forget to say good morning to Fred,” he answered, pointing to the tank. “Fred’s a little sleepyhead in the morning, aren’t you, buddy?”

I squinted my eyes and looked at the tank. Who or what was Fred? Suddenly, a green blob with a pinkish belly and white spots on its back sprang out from behind a plastic log and attached itself to the side of the glass.

“There you are, you little froggy,” Principal Love said. Then, turning to us, he added, “He wants to say hello because he’s going to be a member of your class until next Monday.”

“Does he know that we have a big spelling test this Friday?” my best friend Ashley Wong asked.

“Yeah, it’s full of hard words like ‘beautiful,’” my other best friend Frankie Townsend added.

“That’s not a hard word for him,” Principal Love said, “because he is such a beautiful frog.”

“You call that thing beautiful?” Nick McKelty snickered. “It’s all green and bumpy.”

“Green is my favorite color,” Katie Sperling said. “And besides, I think frogs are cute.”

“I like to watch them suck bugs right out of the air and swallow them whole,” Luke Whitman said. That didn’t surprise me, because Luke likes everything gross. The grosser the better.

“Well, my pal Fred here likes to dine on crickets,” Principal Love said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a plastic container that had a whole bunch of crickets hopping around inside.

“Since I’m going to be away at a conference, Ms. Flowers has kindly agreed to have Fred stay in your classroom until I return. So I’ve brought him enough dinner to keep his tummy nice and full while I’m gone.”

“Eeuuwww,” Katie Sperling said. “I can’t believe he wants to eat those gross things.”

“He probably thinks cheeseburgers are gross,” Ashley pointed out to her.

Everyone laughed. It was going to be fun to have a frog in our class. I especially liked having him there because it meant that I wasn’t going to be the slowest reader anymore. I’m not very good at reading, but even I can read better than a frog.

“I promised Principal Love that we would all take very good care of Fred,” Ms. Flowers said.

“He is my special pet, a White’s tree frog,” the principal explained. “I’ve had him for eight years.”

“That makes him exactly our age,” Frankie said.

About

Hank's class gets to take care of Principal Love's pet frog while he's away, and Hank is thrilled when he's selected to take it home for the weekend. But when he forgets to put the top back on the tank, Hank's excitement quickly turns to panic--the frog has escaped! The frog hunt is on, but time is running out. Hank needs to find that frog, and fast!

Author

Henry Winkler is an acomplished actor, producer, and director. He is most well known for playing The Fonz on the American sitcom Happy Days. In 2003, Henry added author to his list of acheivements as he coauthored a series of children's books. Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is based on the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences. Henry is married to Stacey Weitzman and they have three children. View titles by Henry Winkler
Lin Oliver is a children’s book author and writer/producer of numerous television series and movies for children. With Henry Winkler, she writes the New York Times bestselling book series, Hank Zipzer: World’s Best Underachiever, which has sold over 4 million copies and is a hit television series on the BBC. Their new chapter book series, Here’s Hank, is also a New York Times bestseller.  She is also the author of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk quartet, Sound Bender and The Shadow Mask, adventure/science fiction middle grade novels she coauthored with Theo Baker. Her collection of poetry, the highly praised Little Poems for Tiny Ears, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, is being followed with another poetry collection, Steppin’ Out: Playful Rhymes for Toddler Times. Oliver is the cofounder and Executive Director of SCBWI.  View titles by Lin Oliver

Excerpt

“Today is a very special Wednesday,” Ms. Flowers said to our class. “Can anyone tell me why?”

My hand shot up high in the air. “Because I changed my underpants this morning!” I shouted out proudly, without even waiting to be called on.

The whole class burst out laughing.

“As you can see, Hank,” Ms. Flowers said, “we are all very pleased for you. But your underpants are not exactly what I had in mind.”

Before she could call on anyone else, our classroom door swung open, and Principal Love came in. He was carrying a tall glass tank with a bunch of leafy green plants at the bottom. As usual, he was wearing his Velcro sneakers, which squeaked when he walked in.

“Class, everyone say hello to Principal Love,” Ms. Flowers said.

“Good morning, Principal Love,” we all said at the same time.

“And don’t forget to say good morning to Fred,” he answered, pointing to the tank. “Fred’s a little sleepyhead in the morning, aren’t you, buddy?”

I squinted my eyes and looked at the tank. Who or what was Fred? Suddenly, a green blob with a pinkish belly and white spots on its back sprang out from behind a plastic log and attached itself to the side of the glass.

“There you are, you little froggy,” Principal Love said. Then, turning to us, he added, “He wants to say hello because he’s going to be a member of your class until next Monday.”

“Does he know that we have a big spelling test this Friday?” my best friend Ashley Wong asked.

“Yeah, it’s full of hard words like ‘beautiful,’” my other best friend Frankie Townsend added.

“That’s not a hard word for him,” Principal Love said, “because he is such a beautiful frog.”

“You call that thing beautiful?” Nick McKelty snickered. “It’s all green and bumpy.”

“Green is my favorite color,” Katie Sperling said. “And besides, I think frogs are cute.”

“I like to watch them suck bugs right out of the air and swallow them whole,” Luke Whitman said. That didn’t surprise me, because Luke likes everything gross. The grosser the better.

“Well, my pal Fred here likes to dine on crickets,” Principal Love said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a plastic container that had a whole bunch of crickets hopping around inside.

“Since I’m going to be away at a conference, Ms. Flowers has kindly agreed to have Fred stay in your classroom until I return. So I’ve brought him enough dinner to keep his tummy nice and full while I’m gone.”

“Eeuuwww,” Katie Sperling said. “I can’t believe he wants to eat those gross things.”

“He probably thinks cheeseburgers are gross,” Ashley pointed out to her.

Everyone laughed. It was going to be fun to have a frog in our class. I especially liked having him there because it meant that I wasn’t going to be the slowest reader anymore. I’m not very good at reading, but even I can read better than a frog.

“I promised Principal Love that we would all take very good care of Fred,” Ms. Flowers said.

“He is my special pet, a White’s tree frog,” the principal explained. “I’ve had him for eight years.”

“That makes him exactly our age,” Frankie said.