Sandra Markle and Alan Marks, creators of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award-winning A Mother's Journey, offer an up-close look at the miniature world of the hip-pocket frog.
The male Australian hip-pocket frog, no bigger than an adult human's thumbnail, cares for his children as they grow from tadpoles to young froglets inside the pouches on his legs.
A male hip-pocket frog ducks beneath a button-sized mushroom cap. It’s a tiny space, but since he’s no bigger than a thumbnail, he fits with room to spare. Settling there, he croaks in a creaky voice: Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh!
Nearby, a female hip-pocket frog hears her mate and crawls away to find a meal. For the past eight nights and days, the pair has guarded this bit of forest floor together. Now the male focuses his golden eyes on one small spot on the leaf litter.There, beneath a covering of orange and brown leaves, is a glob of glistening jelly studded with a dozen pearl-like eggs—the tiny parents’ developing brood.
Sandra Markle has written over seventy nonfiction books for young readers, including her Growing Up Wild and Outside and Inside series. Her books have won awards from the Boston Globe/Horn Book, NSTA/CBC, ABA, and ALA. She lives in Florida.
Sandra Markle and Alan Marks, creators of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award-winning A Mother's Journey, offer an up-close look at the miniature world of the hip-pocket frog.
The male Australian hip-pocket frog, no bigger than an adult human's thumbnail, cares for his children as they grow from tadpoles to young froglets inside the pouches on his legs.
Excerpt
A male hip-pocket frog ducks beneath a button-sized mushroom cap. It’s a tiny space, but since he’s no bigger than a thumbnail, he fits with room to spare. Settling there, he croaks in a creaky voice: Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh!
Nearby, a female hip-pocket frog hears her mate and crawls away to find a meal. For the past eight nights and days, the pair has guarded this bit of forest floor together. Now the male focuses his golden eyes on one small spot on the leaf litter.There, beneath a covering of orange and brown leaves, is a glob of glistening jelly studded with a dozen pearl-like eggs—the tiny parents’ developing brood.
Sandra Markle has written over seventy nonfiction books for young readers, including her Growing Up Wild and Outside and Inside series. Her books have won awards from the Boston Globe/Horn Book, NSTA/CBC, ABA, and ALA. She lives in Florida.
