The Mysterious Tadpole

Steven Kellogg's award-winning picture book The Mysterious Tadpole, first published in 1977, is back with wonderful new illustrations and additional "nuances of character, sequence, and plot" in this fabulous 25th-anniversary edition. The story begins when Uncle McAllister brings a "wee bit of Scotland"--a tadpole to be precise--to Louis for his birthday. Delighted, Louis names him Alphonse and brings him to school for show-and-tell. A diet of cheeseburgers allows the creature to grow by leaps and bounds, and he soon outgrows his jar, the kitchen sink, and the bathtub. Finally, when the high school swim team learns of Alphonse's presence in their pool the hard way, Uncle McAllister gets a call: "'Oh, the wee tadpole?' he said. 'Why, he came from the lake nearby. It's the one folks call Loch Ness.'" Louis's ingenuity (he takes on a paper route to pay for his pet's burgers, and that of his friend the librarian (she thinks they can use the aquatic Alphonse to find pirate treasure and use the money to build him his own swimming pool) are heartwarming and hilarious. Children who are attached to a pet will completely relate to Louis's devotion to his unusual new friend. Kellogg's luminous illustrations of the ever-expanding monster and bewildered townspeople are expressive, often hysterical, and full of tiny details that demand many rereadings. A treat! (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson