From the first time I read Oi Frog! I loved it. There’s something about the humourous rhyming verse, the silly premise of the book, and the hilarious illustrations that have always made this a popular choice for storytime in our home. Not matter how many times we read this book together we still smile every time! What makes it even better is that Amy can recite this book by heart now, which makes for very entertaining reading.
If you haven’t read Oi Frog! yet let me tell you a bit more about it. There are rules you know, rules for which animal can sit where. You can’t just sit willy-nilly, anywhere you please, as the frog soon discovers. Cat is about to teach him that frogs sit on logs, no matter whether the “logs are all nobbly and uncomfortable. And they can give you splinters in your bottom” (cue raucous laughter from your child).
Sadly for the frog, only cats sit on mats, hares sit on chairs, and mules sit on stools. You will find yourself laughing out loud as this funny tale evolves, with the brightly coloured pictures bringing the comical story to life. I love how my children remember something so totally random like “pumas sit on satsumas” and then giggle when the frog asks what dogs sit on and the last page shows the dog sitting on the frog who is waving a help sign.
Dogs can’t sit on dogs, they must sit on frogs!
Oi Frog! has become one of our favourite stories to read, and I love that we have the hardcover version and the puzzle version of the book too so Ethan can enjoy reading it and building puzzles by himself. It goes without saying then that we love Oi Dog! too, a sequel that sees the disgruntled frog changing the rules.
Oi Dog! starts where Oi Frog! ended, with the dog sitting on a frog. Frog is obviously still not too impressed by this, but dog is quite happy because “frogs are all squishy and squashy and when you sit on them they go Plurpppppppp!” (I challenge you to say that word out loud and not find it so wonderfully fun). Dogs must now sit on logs, cats on gnats, and bears on stairs.
You will laugh out loud again when you see where frog is going to sit. He’s certainly changed the rules, and he’s moved himself to somewhere much more comfortable than a nobbly log. The only thing is it doesn’t rhyme at all, because frogs are now going to sit on sun loungers! And your children are guaranteed to break into gales of laughter at this every time, no matter how many times you read this book. That and they will now never forget that “elephants sit on smelly pants.”
Oi Cat! is the next in the series, and sees cat now being disgruntled with the new rules that frog made because the gnats keep biting his bottom. Frog is being quite strict with the rules, and gleefully tells cat what he could sit on if he were another animal. For instance, a pony can sit on macaroni, an alpaca on a cream cracker, and a shrimp on a chimp. He must sit on something that rhymes with cat, and soon dog begins to try and help him think of a different name. You’ll have to read the story to see how it turns out for the cat, but you can expect a big lift the flap surprise!
Oi Duck-Billed Platypus!, the new title in this classic series, will be available in October in South Africa. Given the book’s title and that it highlights animals that have names which are impossible to rhyme with (think Kookaburras and hippopotamuses), I can’t wait to read it and find out where the duck-billed platypuses are going to sit!
You can also keep an eye out for the new mini Oi story which was written for World Book Day. Oi Goat! sees frog making all of the animals dress stylishly for World Book Day, but they must all rhyme still of course. So cats put on hats, dogs put on clogs, and goats put on coats. It sounds like a lot of fun for frog in this new Oi adventure.
Oi Frog!, Oi Dog! and Oi Cat! are available from bookstores and online retailers for a recommended retail price of R160 each. Oi Duck-Billed Platypus! will be available in a book and CD set for a recommended retail price of R199 in South Africa this October.
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