The Frog and His Friends Save Humanity, Essay Example

The Frog and His Friends Save Humanity, by Victor Villaseñor and José Ramírez

The Frog and His Friends Save Humanity/ La rana y sus amigos salvan a la humanidad is a fictional novel, by Victor Villaseñor with Edna Ochoa as the translator, and José Ramírez, the illustrator. The story is about a time on earth before the time of the humans. The animals lived freely and one day they stumbled on a small human baby. They did not know what to do with the creature as it could not survive on its own. The frog gained the courage to touch I as the others debated on what to do with the baby. The baby laughed and farted. In that moment, the animals concluded that the strange small creature was placed on earth to laugh and fart so as to bring all animals together and ensure unity. So they protected the baby with the hope that it will grow into something beautiful.

The theme of unity is depicted in the story through the eyes of the animals. The animals stumble on strange creature that farts and laughs when it has its belly rubbed. This animal was apparently meant to unite the animals and keep the together. Unity is an important theme in the story. There is also the theme of the uncertain future. The animals have never encountered such a creature as they protect it with the hope it will grow into something beautiful.

The illustrations are particularly unique to the novel. José Ramírez’ has opted to use luminous paintings for illustrations. These paintings are in thick layered and brightly coloured oils, reminiscent of the early Mexican muralists such as David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera. The text on the left hand-side is wrapped with a background of purple, green, orange, red and yellow. Furthermore, the illustrator has managed to embed the image of a human baby on every page acting as an icon of the main subject of the story.

My favourite two pages are page 5 and 6. The illustrations on these pages enhance the words within the story. The facial expressions on the animals depicts the emotion behind the baby’s discovery. The illustration on the part where the baby farts is interesting and hilarious. These pages depict the discovery of the baby and the talents and purpose of the human baby. The animals are illustrated to be in awe at the discovery of the baby

This book is a very good choice for young students who are English language learners. The author has employed humour effectively to pass across the message making the English learning process fun for the student. The illustrations are quite colourful and ensure that the student’s attention is on the book. The illustrations also enhance the message within the text by providing a visual aid for the student. The author has also used a uniform rhythm that is pitch-perfect which characteristic of a well-told oral story.

I would encourage educators dealing with children to hand this book to an English learning child. The humour gets the child’s attention and creates curiosity in the child to learn about the baby living with the animals. The illustrations enhance the effectiveness of the author’s techniques by creating a colourful visual aid. This enhances imagination in the child, creating even greater curiosity.