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Frog Went A-Courtin' (Audiocassette Tape)
Frog Went A-Courtin' - Audiocassette Tape Author:John Langstaff The time was when the song Frog Went A-Courtin' was known to every man, woman, and child in the United States. Today, this is not the case. The story of the frog dandy and his lovely rodent bride is no longer sung half so much as it once was, so it's a delight to think that books like the 1956 Caldecott winning "Frog Went A-Courtin'" can carry o... more »n the song's tradition. In a respectful author's note at the beginning, writer John Langstaff explains the origins of the song and how the song has changed and grown over the years. "Sometimes the grownups might forget some of the words, and the children would make up words they liked better, and put them in the song". As a result, Langstaff credits the song to the hundreds of adults and children that passed it on to one another. His version is a combination of these, and perhaps the best possible. The narration is smooth and the lyrics scan perfectly. The illustrations are really what make this tale an enduring classic. Every scene is well thought out and delicate. The details are brought fully to life through Rojankovsky's adept inks and colored pencils. The froggy wears shiny black boots with spurs, flipper shaped for his comfort. Bugs and beetles wear the latest 1955 fashions and gleam blue-black against their surroundings. Totally aside from the beauty of the illustrations is the fact that every animal in this book is perfectly presented. You have little doubt that Rojankovsky spent much of his time discovering exactly how many legs a bumblebee has so that he could draw one playing the banjo just right. In a lovely parting shot the mouse and the frog are on a steamer headed for a honeymoon in France. Froggie has doffed a beret and the two are reclining on the deck, happy as you please. The book is endlessly charming and entirely too wonderful to ever be forgotten.« less