Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
The Hop (Disney-Hyperion, 2012) by Sharelle Byars Moranville is a fun adventure story told in two alternating viewpoints: a kid and a TOAD!
Tad, a small toad, lives in Toadville-by-Tumbledown which is in grave danger and he’s been selected to save it by kissing a human girl. Ughh. (Isn’t that an interesting twist?) But not just any girl–it has to be the Queen of the Hop. His trip is quite the adventure as he follows directions and ends up in . . . no, I’m not telling you where.
Taylor’s favorite place is the pond next to her grandmother’s, but the property has been sold and it’s going to be turned into a strip mall. What can she do to save it? And then there’s the complication that her grandmother, Eve, is having chemotherapy and she can’t stay with her all the time anymore, especially this time when her parents go to Reno.
Of course, our two heroes have to meet and kiss, but nothing is as you expect it will be.
There are fun illustrations by Niki Daly to add to the story. (You might want to check out more of his work here.)
Love this book–it makes me smile every time I think about it.
The author in her “questions from readers” tells how she came to name the toads. On the same page, you’ll find out how Sharelle came up with “night-smacky-goo.” You know you want to know…