Author from Aiken, SC Publishes Lively Frog Story for Young Readers

January 3, 2015 - "Almost Hardly's Frog Stories," a new book written by Jim Kline and illustrated by Penny Bradley, has been released by RoseDog Books.

This picture book for children is the primary grades version of "The Adventures of Almost Hardly the Frog," which is intended for the middle school level. Both versions provide a lively and humorous poetic narrative relating the antics and adventures of a young frog curiously named Almost Hardly. The intended audience for this version is made up of preschoolers through third graders (K, 1, 2, & 3) and their accompanying retinue of parents, teachers, babysitters, aunts, uncles, Mi-Maws, Poppys, and occasional siblings. It is a lively story told in an uncomplicated poetic format that encourages novice readers to explore poetic speech patterns and repetition. Young readers will learn to anticipate what comes next and to add some new words to their active reading and oral vocabulary. Helpful reading instruction activities, including the role of poetry in story-telling, can be found on the author's website: www.instructionalsystems.org.

This book is about a young frog who gets in trouble almost all of the time but hardly ever passes up the opportunity to meet new swamp critters, including two children who have totally opposite opinions of frogs. Almost Hardly learns about the abundant rewards and occasional dangers of curiosity, as well as the value of persistence and perseverance. Our illustrator has captured Almost's close calls vividly and memorably.

Look for more adventures from Almost Hardly the Frog.

About the Author and the Illustrator:
The author, Jim Kline, a former Marine, is a retired college teacher (Language, Literature, and English as a Second Language) who earned degrees from Georgia Southern College (BS 1964), the University of Georgia (MA 1967) and the University of Nevada Reno (Ph. D 1972).

He has written poetry for young readers (Hoggerel, The Frog and the Snake); however, this is his first children's book. He and his wife Mary live in Aiken, SC where they entertain and are entertained by numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The illustrator, Penny Bradley, earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in 1968. After raising their three children in the Atlanta area, she and her husband Jim have happily retired to the Northeast Georgia Mountains. Surrounded by nature's beauty, the blessings of family, and the joy of three young grandchildren, she has been able to devote full time to her love of watercolor painting. This is her first attempt at illustrating.

"Almost Hardly's Frog Stories" is a 44-page hardbound with a retail price of $21.00. The ISBN is 978-1-4809-6246-0. It was published by RoseDog Books, an imprint of Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, or to request a review copy, please go to our virtual pressroom at www.dorrancepressroom.com or our online bookstore at www.rosedogbookstore.com.