Short Form (All Genres)

Your Name: Deanne Gonzales

Title: The Mysterious Tadpole Author: Steven Kellogg

Illustrator: Steven Kellogg Publisher/Year: 1977

Genre: fiction (fantasy)

Summarize the content of the book –

A. For Fiction Form Genres—Explain the characters, the setting, theme and
plot of the book.
B. For Poetry Books: Explain the type(s) of poetry and give examples from
the book of fun word choices, lines of poetry and imagery from the
poem(s)
C. For Nonfiction Genres – Explain the information given, how it is shared-
what design

A. Fiction Form
Lewis’s uncle brought him a tadpole from Scotland. He brought this tadpole to school for
show and tell. Lewis named his tadpole Alfonse and his teacher told him to bring the
tadpole back to class every week so they can see him turn into a frog. Alfonse just kept
growing and growing. When he did not fit in the jar anymore, they moved him to the
kitchen sink. After he outgrew the kitchen sink, they moved him to the bathtub but as he
kept growing, Lewis’ father told him that he must be taken to the zoo so he will have
bigger space to move around on. Lewis was sad until he remembered about the swimming
pool at school. He would visit Alfonse every afternoon and swim around with him. Every
day he worries what will happen to him once school starts. On the first day of school, he
saw that the pool was busy and the students were about to dive. Alfonse rose to the top
and got the coach mad. The coach told Lewis that he must take him out of there by
tomorrow. Lewis called the librarian and asked for her helped. Once the librarian saw
Alfonse, she was shocked and dropped her purse in the pool but Alfonse retrieved it. Lewis
and the librarian found out that Alfonse was from the lake called Loch Ness and the
librarian thought that Alfonse might be the Loch Ness monster. Lewis did not care because
Alfonse is his friend and asked the librarian to help him raise money so Alfonse can have his
own pool so play around around on. The librarian remembered about the ship that sunk a
long time ago and she heard that there might be treasure at the bottom waiting to be
retrieved. Once Alfonse got a hold of the treasure, they were finally able to work on the
pool for him.

Explain how the book appeals to children, their interests, developmental levels,
fun illustrations etc. Give specific examples from the book:

The children would understand and relate to Lewis because he is still in school and
it is really great to have a friend like Alfonse. The adventures and the relationship
between Alfonse is extremely relatable and will let the students understand the
emotional development between an animal and its owner/friend.
Rate the book 1 2 3

Explain your rating.

I enjoyed the book greatly. It was an amazing story and I love the relationship
between Lewis and his tadpole friend Alfonse. He really cared about him and would
do anything for him. I also enjoyed the ending of the book in which I am extremely
curious.