Cassie Polimeni (text) and Hykie Breeze (illustrator), Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra, UWA Publishing, July 2024, 91 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), 9781760802899
Did you know frogs can find their way home? It’s called a ‘homing instinct’…no matter where they are, they know where they belong. I think I know how frogs feel.
Eight-year-old Ella is miserable in her new house and neighbourhood. That is until she discovers a pond filled with singing frogs over the fence that sounds like a beautiful orchestra. Luckily, she gets over her ‘new girl at school’ nerves, making friends with classmate Mai. She is also excited to learn there is a class frog bog project. But then her neighbour’s pond is threatened by diggers as a new house is being built on the property. Can Ella and Mai save the frogs before it’s too late?
This tender tale of Ella’s quest to rescue the local frog habitat is heart-warming and clever on many levels. On the surface, it appears to be an environmental story. But Ella has moved to a new house and a new school – that means dealing with the trials of new friendships. There is also the chaos of Ella’s family, her adorable pancake-making dad, her messy younger brother Will, and her mum, who always make time for her in her busy new life. The illustrations by Hykie Breeze add other layers of detail and emotion to the story. There are also a set of simple, clear instructions on how to build a frog pond which would excite any backyard creature lover.
Author Cassie Polimeni has captured the feelings and voice of an eight-year-old perfectly in the way Ella sees and feels her changing world. Interesting facts about frogs are woven through this story seamlessly.
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is the first book in an illustrated junior fiction series. Its environmental and friendship themes and easy-to-digest language levels will delight children aged 7+.
Reviewed by Stef Gemmill