Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4^-7. Frog parents warn their son, "Mind your manners well today. We're out to lunch, not out to play." But young Joe is an irresistible force. He uses the celery to pretend he's a reindeer, climbs under the table to play peek-a-boo, and throws food all over the waiter in an attempt to zap a fly (is eating bugs at the table bad manners for a frog?). With their food in take-out boxes, the parents finally drag Joe away before he totally wrecks the restaurant and are pictured on the final page glumly watching their son play in the colored balls pit at a more child-friendly establishment called Frog Frolic & Food. Even with anthropomorphic frogs, the situational realism of this book may leave parents depressed and despondent--and kids laughing in recognition. The lively red-and-green-tinted pictures lined in ink will show well in groups, making this an additional title for a story hour about manners. --Annie Ayers
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1The frog family depicted in Time for Bed, the Babysitter Said (1987) and To the Tub (1997, both Houghton) is back. This time little Joe's long-suffering parents attempt to take him to a fancy restaurant for lunch. The irrepressible preschooler is in constant motion despite the repeated refrain, "We're out to lunch, not out to play." Full-page, color cartoons capture the exasperated expressions of the adults around him perfectly. The bouncy rhymed text reads aloud well and could also be enjoyed independently by beginning readers. A treat.Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Published spring 1998. When a frog's parents take him along on their lunch date, Joe dropped his fork. Joe dropped his spoon. Joe launched his fish stick to the moon. His behavior sends his parents running to a froggie version of McDonald's Playland. Loose-lined watercolors easily juxtapose Joe's delight with his parents' dismay, but the joke is ultimately for adults--namely parents--who have been there. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A brief rhyming text, suitable for beginning readers, and cartoon-style illustrations chronicle a frog family's disastrous lunch at a fancy restaurant. Young Joe crawls under the table, plays with his food, slurps and burps, and, true to his froggy nature, catches a fly on his tongue. His parents try in vain to control him while other diners point and stare, frown indisapproval, and laugh out loud. The frazzled waiter, splashed with food and drink, clearly can't wait for the family to leave. And leave they do, to the safety of a fast-food joint, where Joe can cavort happily in the playground while his parents glumly eat their burgers and fries. This has funny moments, especially the fly-catching and the surprise ending, but the slapstick humor spins out of control, and the point of view is adult. Any parent who has endured such a meal will relate to this, but children may miss the point. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
