ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PRESCHOOL
Forsythe, Matthew

Pokko and the Drum

64 pp. | Simon/Wiseman | October, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4814-8039-0 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-4814-8040-6
(2) PS "The biggest mistake Pokko's parents ever made was giving her a drum," begins this story about a young frog musician's path to creative fulfillment, benevolent (mostly) leadership, and satisfying self-expression. After that attention-grabbing opening line, the well-paced text builds anticipatory humor by backing up to describe earlier gifts Pokko's parents regretted: a slingshot, a llama, and a balloon, all shown in uncluttered spreads featuring the game but poker-faced Pokko. Then comes the drum: Pokko's face lights up and she reaches toward her instrument, her now-constant companion. She practices inside the house; her parents send her out. She goes to the forest, where her playing attracts a banjo-strumming raccoon, a trumpet-blowing rabbit, and more; soon she's trailed by a parade of like-minded, music-making creatures (minus the rabbit, who gets eaten by a wolf: "No more eating band members or you're out of the band," deadpans Pokko). There are lots of visual nods and references in Forsythe's textured, painterly watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations--Rousseau, Sendak, Lobel, Ungerer, Keats, Klassen--but, like his amphibian protagonist, this idiosyncratic author/illustrator/animator (The Brilliant Deep, rev. 7/18; Warning: Do Not Open This Book!; the Adventure Time television series) marches to his own beat.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

RELATED 

PRESCHOOL

The Farmer and the Circus
by Frazee, Marla
PRESCHOOL

Bird House
by Gómez, Blanca
PRESCHOOL

The Crow and the Peacock
by Fernihough, Jo
PRESCHOOL

Something's Wrong!
by John, Jory
PRESCHOOL

Grandpa Across the Ocean
by Yum, Hyewon
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?