Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra (Cassy Polimeni, illus Hykie Breeze, UWAP)

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni (The Garden at the End of the World) is a beautifully written junior fiction story exploring themes of animal conservation, friendship and finding your voice. Eight-year-old Ella has just moved house and is feeling grouchy and displaced. When she follows a strange sound in the garden and falls through the fence into the neighbour’s backyard, she discovers a family of frogs in a pond. Their different croaks sound like the most amazing orchestra. At her new school, she finds another frog pond next to her classroom and a new friend. Maybe this place won’t be so bad after all, she thinks. But when the neighbours demolish their frog pond, Ella is concerned the frogs will lose their habitat. With the help of her friend, her teacher and her family, she must find a way to save them. With age-appropriate environmental themes and illustrations by Hykie Breeze, this well-written and engaging story for readers who enjoyed What Zola Did on Monday highlights the importance of frogs and their endangered status. The end matter provides practical tips for young people to build a frog pond. This charming chapter book for readers aged 5 to 8 (or as a read-aloud) is the first in a planned four-book series and will remind or teach children of the importance of small creatures in our backyard.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Angela Crocombe is a senior buyer and bookseller at Readings Kids. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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