Frog () is a character in a series of children's

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

s created by Dutch author and illustrator

Max Velthuijs Max Velthuijs (22 May 1923 – 25 January 2005) was a Dutch painter, illustrator and writer, one of the most famous children's illustrators in the Netherlands. In 2004 he received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his "lasting contribution ...

. The first Frog title in English was published in 1989, entitled ''Frog In Love'', translated by

Klaus Flugge Klaus Flugge (born 1934) is a German-born British publisher, founder in 1976 of the London-based children's book publishing company Andersen Press. He was awarded the 2023 London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award. Biography Klaus Flugge wa ...

for

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

. Frog books have been translated into more than 50 languages. So far eight titles have been translated from Dutch to English. In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Frog is known as Kikker and has become a well-known and loved book character. Together with his friends Pig, Duck and Hare, Frog lives in an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

animal world. He observes daily events from a childlike perspective, offering children insight into social interactions. In Frog's world, there is no status. All the animals are the same size, which gives them absolute equality. Every animal has its own personality and skills. Frog and his friends enjoy life and deal with real life issues, such as fear, love, sadness, and loss, making these difficult subjects and emotions more understandable for children. At the end of each book, there's always a positive solution for the dilemma's the animals face. In

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

''Frog Is A Hero'' was included in the National Curriculum. Velthuijs received the prestigious

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2004 for the illustrations of his own Frog books. When Max Velthuijs died in January 2005, Carmen Diana Dearden said: ‘like in ''

Frog and the Birdsong ''Frog and the Birdsong'' (Dutch: "''Kikker en het vogeltje''") is a 1991 children's picture book by Dutch author and illustrator Max Velthuijs. It is one of the books in the "Frog" series. The main character, Frog, finds a dead bird, and with ...

'', “all his life he sang beautifully for us,” and he will always sing his lovely songs through his books.’ Frog page
at

References

{{Portal , Children's literature Book series introduced in 1989 Books about frogs Children's books about friendship Dutch children's books Dutch picture books Series of children's books Fictional frogs Anthropomorphic frogs Short stories about talking animals