We are the Wibbly! A Tadpole's Tale by Sarah Tagholm illustrated by Jane McGuiness

This book just begs to be read aloud. Our young narrator always seems to come last. Youngest siblings are sure to relate to this and other children will sympathise with his feelings of being slow to catch up with the group. As Kirkus says: While some life cycle books feel dry, this one is enlivened by humor and the modest but compelling narrative, which follows a distinctive pink-cheeked tadpole who’s decidedly ambivalent about this whole metamorphosis business.

I love his individual voice and the way he uses invented words. This is an absolutely perfect book to consider for any preschool library or bookshelf. It is a terrific way to talk about the lifecycle of frogs and the art in this book is just so very appealing. It reminds me of a preschool art technique blowing bubbles through paint. See more books illustrated by Jane McGuiness here. 

Image source: Jane McGuiness

Invented words and fun phrases: water-flying; hunger-muncher; 'you will not do believing this'; juiceable dinners; I am the fasterest; 'oh my crikeys'; air-swimming.

Look at this diagram and you can see the changes he goes through:

Publisher blurb: OH MY CRIKEYS! Doesn't life move fast? One moment you're in the Wibbly, relaxing with your Wibbly friends. The next, they've all grown tails and turned into tadpoles! And what's more, they are bursting OUT of the Wibbly ... AND you've got to keep up! Some tadpoles don't feel ready to become frogs. And some never wanted to become tadpoles in the first place.

Frequent exclamation points propel the springy narrative, and sprinkles of quirky invented words and unconventional grammar feel very froglike indeed. ...  Splashy illustrations in ink, mixed-media, and Photoshop leap with energy, while the gently rounded, big-eyed frogs are cute yet still accurately rendered. A page of backmatter nicely summarizes the frog’s life cycle. A hopping good book perfect for budding biologists. Kirkus Star review

Here is a very extensive Pinterest collection of books about frogs and toads from my friend Kinderbookswitheverything. 

I would pair We are Wibbly with this book:

One Tiny Tree Frog