Absolutely adorable story about tadpoles which my daughters thoroughly enjoyed, especially after helping us look after our own tadpoles earlier this year

This is a very cute, fun picture book designed to teach children about the life cycle of tadpoles. It's a fun read with cute and colourful illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

A delightful and hilarious story by Sarah Tagholm which will no doubt engage children and keep their attention till the very last page. I think this book could be a huge success as it ties beautifully with the theme of life cycles and it's fresh and original, with beautiful illustrations and a gorgeous colour scheme by Jane McGuinness.

We are introduced to I, who is still part of the frog sprawn, relaxing and minding his(her?) own business, only to realise very soon that all other egg-friends are changing, growing tails, then legs and generally abandoning the relaxation for exploration and adventures. But poor I is always one step behind and rushes to follow and grow just like everyone else.

This book has been massively enjoyed in my library between the ages of 3 and 7 in particular and I highly recommend it in terms of supporting the life cycles topic and as a stand alone.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy, all opinions are my own.

The titular wibbly is a large mass of frogspawn, and "We Are the Wibbly" charts their evolution from jelly-like blobs to fully-fledged frogs. So far so good - a great educational tale for young minds. However, the language used was nothing resembling proper English. It was mostly phonetic spelling and very little resembling actual words. I found this really jarring in a book that was purportedly educational.

Oh My Crikeys!! We love this book! This hilarious picture book is the perfect mixture of silly and study!
The Wibbly is safe and warm. When others start to burst out of the wibbly, there is resistance from the late bloomer who is left watching until finally….Oh My Crikeys…it bursts out and has to take part in water flying! Always one step behind, the tadpole has to avoid the common dangers such as ‘spiked hunger-munchers’ and let’s not forget the terrifying ‘furry danger monster’ in the garden!
A lovely coming of age tale with educational value and a message to remind our little ones (and their parents) not to worry if they aren’t doing, or don’t feel ready to do things quite as quickly as others, their time will come and then they may even leap ahead.
Brilliantly illustrated by Jane McGuiness, this is a firm favourite here and we are rejoicifying (we know!) at the thought that there might be others in the pipeline.
Part fact, part fiction (although we would like to believe that this is actually the lingo used when you are hanging out with the pondlife) totally awesome, Sarah’s description of the life cycle of a frog, told in the first person by what starts out as a frogspawn is niceable, not too longish and perfectly pitched for children age 1-5.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for sending us this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

OH MY CRIKEYS! We's loved the Wibbly. It is more than niceable. It is brilliantly!

Tagholm hits exactly the right note of silliness with her fun and thought provoking picture book depicting the life cycle of the frog. Children and readers of all ages will delight in this hilarious story that follows one tiny tadpole's journey from timid beginning to courageous finale. With the lightness of touch, Sarah shares with her readers that we may not all be the same but everyone is their own kind of special - and all through the accurate life cycle of the frog!

Jane's illustrations were stunning and complemented the silliness perfectly - the tadpoles expressions were genius! There is so much to look at in the brilliant art work that this book will surely be poured over and delighted in for ages after it's been read.

Sarah and Jane are an incredible team and I hope there is more to come from them.

In Three Words: funny, adorable, educational

We've known about this one for a while and feel so lucky to have been able to read it early, courtesy of NetGalley, because it is ace. Telling the story of one tadpole's experience of being a wibbly to becoming a frog, this is a picture book that every KS1 teacher will be crying out to have on their bookshelves...

OH MY CRIKEYS! Everything and everyone around me is changing. First we is the wibblies and now nothing is staying the same. What is happening to them...and what if it doesn't happen to me?

Nailing an hilarious voice and a child's anxious viewpoint perfectly, Sarah Tagholm explores what change can look like to little ones and the importance they place on those around them. If everyone is changing, then why aren't they? Can they do what everyone else can do? And what if they can't? Besides, what is this change anyway? What on earth is going to happen next?

Alongside all these humany questions, is also the simple but brilliantly executed tale - or tail - of a tadpole's journey from frogspawn to frog. Fitting in with topics such as life-cycles and nature, it will capture children's fascination and interest in a thoroughly entertaining way, enriching their understanding and curiosity. Even older children will be chuckling along and uttering the catchy catchphrase: OH MY CRIKEYS! Throw in the most adorable illustrations from Jane McGuiness and what you have is a perfect picture book package.

The illustrations in the book are wonderful and bring everything to life.
I’m very torn writing this review: I like the idea very much and some of the phrasing used is funny and effective - the cat being called a furry danger monster for example. However, I don’t like the purposeful non standard phrasing which although is maintained for character and suggests a young innocence - children will copy this and for language development I don’t think it’s helpful - I know it’s for fun but exposure matters and this is why I can only give 3 stars.

I thought this was a very cute tale of tadpoles and their life cycle. It was beautifully illustrated.

I get that the author is trying to show the text from the pov of the tadpole, but unfortunately I don't really enjoy using improper grammar with children as it can definitely lead to errors in their work.

Other than that, this book was completely adorable!

I thought that this was a funny story and my 6 year old really enjoyed it!

It was well written with a great flow to the story that made it an addictive read as we wanted to see what would happen on the next page!

The illustrations in the book are lovely and really brought the story to life

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended