Tadpole's Promise

 

The picture book Tadpole's Promise is written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross. It was published in 2005 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 

Lexile Level: 4D400L     Ages: 4-8

Summary: 

     Tadpole's Promise is a story about love. Above ground there is a rainbow caterpillar that has love for a tadpole in the water below. The caterpillar loves the tadpole just the way he is and throughout the story the caterpillar states "I love everything about you. Promise you'll never change". The tadpole always promises he will never change. As the seasons change the tadpole matures, his legs grow, and then his arms. The caterpillar matures into a butterfly who realizes that she still loves the tadpole/frog and decided to forgive him for changing. As the frog sits on his lily pad the butterfly approaches. Before she can apologize she is digested by the frog. Tadpole will never know where his beautiful rainbow caterpillar went! 

Evaluation:

      This story could be used as high quality literature, because it addresses a different avenues of learning. This is a wonderful story to use when teaching, or reviewing, the life cycle because we see the progression of a frog and caterpillar. I would recommenced this story for a older students, 4th and 5th grade, because there is a realistic twist at the end that the younger students may not have been prepared for.

     This book can be use to teach a moral lesson as well. This books main theme is promises the moral lesson will be to make sure student understand that promises are important and they need to be careful what they promise. We see that the tadpole made promises that were out of his control and it cause the caterpillar to get upset.

     The author had a clear message in Tadpole's Promise and it is a story that accurately portrayed the life cycle of the frog and caterpillar and it also accurately displayed that when promises are broken consistently it can cause the other person (or caterpillar) to get upset. According to Donna Norton the main theme was relationships and Jeanne Willis showed the relationship between the caterpillar and the tadpole.

Illustrations and Elements:

     Tadpole's Promise reads from top to bottom, rather than from left to right. Vertical images surrounded by a white border depict a love affair between a caterpillar (on a willow leaf on the upper page) and tadpole (in a pond on the lower page). This layout is consistent throughout the whole story there is never a time in the story that has just land or just water, which allows the reader to follow the tadpole and the rainbow caterpillar. Tadpole's Promise displays conflict by having two animals promise each other something that is unattainable. This could be a reason to do a read-a-loud with students. It will show students that a promise is to be made in situations that you have control over. The tadpole did not have control on his maturing causing him to break his promise and upset the rainbow caterpillar. Another literary element that stood out was the tone. The tone has the reader feeling a bit sad, awestruck, and surprised.

1. Setting: Where the willow tree meets the water.

2. Theme: Trying to keep a promise

3. Conflict: A tadpole and a caterpillar promise each other something that is unattainable. 

In the Classroom:

       Tadpole's Promise can be used as a read-a-loud in the classroom for two lessons. The first lesson is in relation to science. This story could be an introduction to metamorphosis and the life cycle. This story shows the growth of a frog from his legs to his arms. It also shows the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly and gets eaten by the frog showing the life cycle. These are some questions the teacher could ask while reading this story to the class.

     -Can you explain what metamorphosis is?
     -Write a report that explains how tadpoles change into frogs and caterpillars change into     butterflies.
The second lesson that a teacher could use this story for is prediction. This story gives the teacher multiple opportunities to stop and ask "what do you think will happen next?". A specific time to ask a question would be the first time the caterpillar asks the tadpole to promise he will never change. This is a time to pause and ask what will happen next? Another opportunity is when the caterpillar has changed into a butterfly have the students predict what will happen between the frog and butterfly. 


Willis, J., & Ross, T. (2005). Tadpole's promise. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.