"If Natterjack Toad
makes a mighty crunch,
the weasel's going to hear.
And he'll be between
those teeth.
So he puts his cookie back
and he's off,
quickety-whip."
Young listeners will very much enjoy Natterjack Toad's dilemma, the repetitive text, and the anticipation for the next critter he will have to deal with before having and enjoying a tasty snack. Kathryn Durst's colorful, detailed digital artwork adds to the fun.
Natterjack is on the hunt for a cool and comfortable place to relax, where he can feast on a packet of Chocolate-Chunk Crunchy-Munch Cookies. The hammock is hung and swinging comfortably when he decides to open the packet and taste the deliciousness. He's found the perfect quiet hiding place ... or has he? About to take his first bite, he spies a heron who is sure to hear him. He quickly moves on. Perhaps the meadow can provide the solitude the pond could not.
Snuggled into the warmth where grass is tall, he is once again ready to partake of his picnic. As he is about to take a big bite, he spies a weasel right next to him. No chance is he going to let that weasel hear his first munch. Off he heads to the forest and the protection of many, many trees. He knows this is the perfect place, opens his mouth to take a big bite and locks eyes with both a mole and a vole. He does his best to send them away. They have a warning about a huge forest hog!
Natterjack has had it. Not believing them about a forest hog, he will enjoy his picnic. What a sound it makes! It does, indeed, attract an immense and starving forest hog. She is much more interested in consuming the mole, the vole and the frog! Leaving the cookies to entice that hog, the three make their escape. Back home, Natterjack is extremely unhappy with the state of his being without his favorite cookies. Luckily, his new friends have an acceptable solution.
Attentive listeners will have to keep their eyes on the action provided by a firefly, a dragonfly, and a beret-wearing worm. It's a lively book for reading aloud, and may just get requests for hearing it all over again.
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