The Mystery of Darwin's Frog

An amphibian with some highly unusual biological characteristics is the subject of this thorough examination. In 1834, while exploring Lemuy Island in southern Chile, Charles Darwin discovered a previously unidentified species of frog with a pointy nose. Decades later, scientists noticed a curious detail about it: tadpoles frequently reside inside the male frogs' vocal sacs--just one of several mysteries to emerge surrounding Darwin's frog, some of which went unsolved well into the 20th century (the reason behind the frogs' diminishing population remains an open question). Jenkins's cut-paper constructions combine with Rodriguez's portraits of scientists and with arresting color photographs of the frogs in the wild. Crump investigates a riddle of biodiversity with clarity and style. Ages 7-11. (Apr.)

Gr 5-7--Most frog species give parenting the go-bye after egg-laying and fertilization, but a select number of these amphibious hoppers take their nurturing skills seriously. One of these "caring" species is Rhinoderma darwinii, an inch-long frog discovered by Charles Darwin in Chile in 1834, while on his expedition aboard the Beagle. Other scientists investigated little Rhinoderma from time to time over the years, discovering that the males slurp up their almost-hatched or newly hatched tadpoles, brood them in their vocal sacs, and perhaps even feed them with substances released by the lining of the sac. Crump entered the Rhinoderma arena of investigation after years of work on other South American frog species, and in clear, readable prose she describes the earlier investigations of this intriguing frog and records her own efforts to document how it lives in the wild. She discusses her findings and goes on to present the problems facing not only Darwin's frogs, but also frogs in general-loss of habitat, pollution, and the assault of the lethal Bd fungus. The book is aglow with clear color photos and some great artwork. Team this with Laurence Pringle's fine Frogs! Strange and Wonderful (Boyds Mills, 2012), Nic Bishop's colorful Frogs (Scholastic, 2008), and Mark W. Moffett's eye-catching Face to Face with Frogs (National Geographic, 2008) for a fascinating unit, or, for more advanced frog lovers, with Sandra Markle's sterling The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs (Millbrook, 2012) and Pamela Turner's superb The Frog Scientist (Houghton, 2009). Eye-catching and thought-provoking.--Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY