I love the illustrations and their colors so reflective of life around a pond. I prefer to read the story simply on the level that a child might enjoy it without the heavy thoughts of political gain and loss. The ending is interesting as humans are inserted into the tale and their ownership of the 'crown' is shared as one of happiness. Then, when the status symbol is lost, the servant-frogs demote the crown wearer to their own level.

Made up rules grant elevated rank to the holder of the crown and servitude to the remaining frogs. Looking at the story from an adult viewpoint (and wondering if this deeper meaning is meant to be conveyed to the child reader/listener): The frogs living a simple life create a one in which a single individual dominates the populace simply because of a status symbol. So life in the pond returns to its previous state of blissful frog happiness. Eventually, the queen's crown is lost again in the depths of the pond so the frog-queen is no longer regarded as special and therefore queen. Then of course they have to figure out just what it is that a queen does. The illustrations bring hilarity and life to the simple story of finding an object that promotes the finder to queen status. Looking at the story from the point of view of a child: It is a story of a group of frogs and an imaginary life that one can perceive exists in the pond. In The Queen of the Frogs the muted browns, greens, and reds and the charm of the frog drawings themselves, are true to the story with true merit of their own. Reviewed by Stacey on To me a children's book should be rich with illustrations that tell the story visually interpreting the text from the author. I can see it being a story that is read over, and over again. The book would be perfect for bedtime reading, alongside class reading. I loved the large, colourful, eye catching illustrations that are adorned throughout, which are full of character. It was a joy to read, and the story was captivating, and full of fun. The Queen of Frogs, is a young children’s hardcover book. You’re going to have to read the book to find out if he managed it, and how? One day one of the frogs came up with a fantastic idea to get things back to normal.

She bossed them about, demanded the largest lily pad, and was constantly hungry, so they had to work hard to catch flies for her.

Soon, they were fed up of having a queen. The other frogs all called her ‘queen’ and starting chanting ‘long live the queen’. When they got back to the surface one of the frogs was wearing the item on her head, a crown. The frogs dived to the bottom to find the item. One summers evening whilst they were sat singing around the pond, something dropped into the water. In the pond lived lots of happy frogs, doing froggy things and enjoying life.

The Queen of the Frogs by Davide Calì