UWAP
August 2026
ISBN13: 9781760803360
LIST PRICE: AU$ 15.99 / NZ$ 18.99
Sadly we are now at the end of the wonderful froglicious Ella series but what a great one to finish it up. Because in this final, this little girl who has been a ‘voice’ for frogs, their safety and their habitats throughout, takes that advocacy to a wider audience.
Ella’s class has new penpals from Queensland, from Double Beach Primary [which would really be State School, it’s Qld!] and at first Ellie doesn’t know what to write about to her new friend, Billie. At the last minute, she tears out the pages from her journal describing setting up the backyard frog pond and sends those. Billie is excited to return the favour with stories of her backyard wildlife, including our beautiful green tree frogs.
And then with great timing, the class has a visit from a local wildlife ranger and learn about Finn the green tree frog who was one of many ‘stowaways’ on green bananas heading from the far north to markets and shops all around the country.
When Ella discovers that her own local shop has had one of these frogs but was at a loss as to what to do about it, she comes up with a great idea. She and her friends devise and execute a wonderful public awareness initiative.
Once again Cassy has created an engaging and very natural-sounding narrative for younger readers, with that important thread of eco-awareness throughout alongside the importance of friendship, family and shared interests. I truly love that it never sounds preachy and that the kids (and the teacher!) are always completely authentic. Hykie’s illustrations are again a fabulous addition to the text and help support those readers not yet quite as confident in their reading.
We know how much this age group relishes an engaging series and they are always so valuable for growing reading confidence, given there is a familiarity with characters, setting and themes as well as a level of predictability that is well within their reach.
It’s been a real pleasure to share Ella’s journey and not least of all because of the joy of frogs! And I hoppily give it another 5 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸rating.
Make origami jumping frogs like Ella and Mai
Frog Crafts from Red Ted (always one of my first ‘go-to’s !
Two Easy Frog Crafts You Can Make at Home May Gibbs
Read Cassy’s interview about writing the Ella series over at Just Write for Kids
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