Tad

Benji Davies
Harper Collins
Age 3-7

Tad is nearly a frog but not quite. Her brothers and sisters are bigger and stronger and growing into frogs much faster. They gradually disappear to live above water warning Tad to hurry up in case the Big Blub, a scary big fish gets her. But is Big Blub real, and if so, how safe is Tad?

This is a beautifully written and illustrated picturebook about change and overcoming fears. Sharing the story might inspire interest in the natural world; tadpoles and how they develop into frogs.

Watch the publisher’s tease-trailer here

Watch Benji Davies talk about his book Tad  and read part of the story here 

Share the story

Before reading
Before beginning the story talk about the cover and the end papers and title page together. What can children see? Talk together about what they know about frogs and tadpoles.

Read the story aloud
Read the story aloud to your child, pausing to talk about what is happening in the story and illustrations when your child wants to.

Join in
As children become familiar with the story, they may like to join in with the repeated parts eg ‘smaller than’, the speech sound effects eg GULP! Swoosh- wiggle-swish! and the count down.

Talk about the story

• How does your child think Tad feels – at the beginning of the story and at the end?

• Share favourite illustrations and talk about why you chose them.

• Count tadpoles with Tad

• What made Tad worry about her tadbrothers and tadsisters?

Things to make and do

Move like a frog
Children can try hopping like a frog, perhaps from one imaginary lily pad to another – you could use cushions or pillow cases for lily pads.

Be a tadpole spotter
Visit a pond to look for signs of frogspawn, tadpoles or frogs. Talk about what you see – children might be able to take photos or draw pictures.

Make an information book
Talk about the frog’s life cycle and help your child to make a zig zag book illustrating this together. See link below for information about frogs and tadpoles.

Make a hiding place for Tad
Make a place for Tad to hide from Big Blub. Use a shoe box and turn it on its side. Paint the inside green. Stick in reeds made of card – or decorate with plastic pond weed from a pet shop. Decorate a little card shape to be Tad and stick the shape among the reeds. You could make a Big Blub stick puppet searching for Tad too.

Find out more

Find out more about tadpoles and frogs here and here

Read more books by Benji Davies

Titles include:

The Storm Whale

The Storm Whale in Winter

Grandma Bird

Grandad’s Island

The Grotlyn

 

For another story about a tadpole see Tadpole’s Promise by Jeannie Willis and Tony Ross