The Royal Leap-Frog

Peter Bently

Claire Powell

Bloomsbury, 2022

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781408860106

Q: What do a grasshopper, a flea and a frog have in common?

A: They can all leap.

Q; But who can leap the highest?

A: Read this funny, colourful re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen‘s classic The Leaping Match 

Told in rhyme with hilarious illustrations, this is a fast-paced retelling of one of Andersen’s lesser-known stories that offers all sorts of opportunities from investigating his works, to exploring the concept of fables and the lessons they teach, to having a competition to see who in the class can jump the greatest distance and comparing the difference between standing and stationary starts. 

Slightly different to the original in which a flea and  a grasshopper both vain and ambitious, and a frog, patient wise and humble arrange a contest to see who can jump highest with the King offering the hand of the princess to the victor, it also enables students to look at various versions of some of these classic tales and compare and contrast how their telling has changed over time and generations, while the core message remains relevant.

Or just read it for the fun of it…