The Girl With Frogs in Her Ears

The girl with Frogs in her ears

by Matthew Swanson Illustrations by Robbi Behr

Bobbledy Books 100 South Queen Street Chestertown, MD 21620 www.bobbledybooks.com ISBN: 978-1-4507-8215-9 Copyright Š 2012 All rights reserved.

The girl with Frogs in her ears

by Matthew Swanson Illustrations by Robbi Behr

Little Vera was an only child. Long ago, she’d had a brother and a sister, but they had been missing for three years, and Vera had almost forgotten about them.

Vera had frogs in her ears, so she couldn’t hear when her mother told her to make her bed.

I beg your pardon?

Vera would say.

I SAID, MAKE YOUR BED! her mother would say.

But since Vera had frogs in her ears, instead of making her bed, she went to the river and threw pebbles at the barges floating by.

When Vera got hungry, she went home and sat down at the table for lunch. But because she had frogs in her ears, she didn’t hear when her mother told her to wash her hands.

I beg your pardon? said Vera.

I SAID, WASH YOUR HANDS! said her mother.

But because she had frogs in her ears, Vera ate her onion sandwich, potato chips, and dill pickle with dirty hands.

After she finished her lunch, Vera walked to the center of town, where a bunch of people were gathered around the mayor. He was saying something, but because Vera had frogs in her ears, she didn’t know what it was.

Suddenly, the mayor looked right at Vera and asked her a question.

I beg your pardon?

said Vera.

I SAID, WE ARE LOOKING TO GO CONQUER THE BIG OF EGGPLANT MOUNTA A TOOTHBrUSH AND A CARD! ARE YOU WILLING

FOR SOMEONE -HEADED OGRE IN USING ONLY BENT PLAYING TO DO IT?

Because Vera had frogs in her ears, she couldn’t hear the mayor. But since he seemed so nice and important, she nodded anyway.

The mayor clapped his hands with delight, and all the townspeople cheered, which made Vera very happy.

But she didn’t know what was happening when the mayor handed her a toothbrush and a bent playing card.

And she had no clue what was going on when he drove her in his jeep to the top of Eggplant Mountain.

And she had absolutely no idea what the mayor was saying as he pointed anxiously at something right behind her.

I beg your pardon?

said Vera.

But the mayor got back in his jeep and drove away as quickly as he could.

Vera turned around and looked. There was an ogre with a gigantic head and seven tiny arms.

Vera and the ogre looked at one another. Neither one knew what to do.

Vera wanted to talk to the ogre, but since she had eaten onions for lunch, she decided to brush her teeth first.

Once her teeth were fresh and minty, she went over to the ogre and shook each one of his seven hands.

The ogre was so pleased with Vera’s fine manners and minty breath that he taught her to play a game called Simple Jim, which required balancing a bent playing card on the bridge of one’s nose.

Vera and the ogre played Simple Jim for three weeks straight and became best friends.

You’re my best friend. said Vera.

I beg your pardon?

said the ogre.

But Vera couldn’t hear what he was saying.

I beg your pardon? said Vera.

They went back and forth like that for a long time.

I beg your pardon?

I beg your pardon?

I beg your pardon?

I beg your pardon?

I beg your pardon?

Eventually, Vera realized that the only way to let the ogre know how much she liked him was to give him a really big hug.

Vera hugged the ogre so hard that something popped out of his ears.

It was Vera’s brother and sister!

Hi, guys!

said Vera, reaching out to give them a hug.

But they ran screaming down the mountain without even saying hello.

Bye, guys.

said Vera.

Suddenly, the ogre could hear the birds in the trees, and the wind in the leaves, and the gurgling of the nearby stream. It was the happiest he had been in three years.

The ogre was so happy that he gave Vera an enormous hug. When he did, the frogs popped right out of Vera’s ears and hopped away.

Now Vera and the ogre could hear each other, which made them even better friends than they were before.

You’re the best.

No, you’re the best.

No, you’re the best.

No, you’re the best.

No, you’re the best.

Vera and the ogre decided to go down the mountain so that Vera could say hi to her brother and sister.

But as soon as they walked into the town, everyone screamed and shrieked and shouted.

It was so loud that Vera and the ogre had to put things back in their ears.

Which is how they preferred it anyway.

THE END

HOW TO PLAY SIMPLE JIM 1

Find a friend.

4

2

Stand face to face with your right foot touching your friend’s right foot.

6

Have your friend reach out his hand.

Find a playing card.

5

3

Bend the playing card in half.

Balance the card on your forehead and the bridge of your nose.

7

Try to hit your friend’s hand with your hand.

9

8

If you don’t hit your friend’s hand or if the card falls off your nose, you don’t get a point and it’s your friend’s turn.

If you hit your friend’s hand without the card falling off your nose, you get a point.

10

Switch, and see if your friend can hit your hand without the card falling off.

There are no rules for how long you play or how many points you need to win.

You don’t even need to keep track of points. Generally, both people win at Simple Jim because it’s so fun.

WHO WE ARE Matthew Swanson wrote the words for this book. Robbi Behr drew the pictures. They live together with their three kids, two cats, and one blue dog in the hayloft of an old barn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Matthew is a writer and dad who was born at the base of a dormant volcano. He wrote this book because he had a vivid dream about an eggplant that tasted just like a mountain. He would very much like to put frogs in his ears, but his ears are just too small.

Robbi is an artist and mom who drew the pictures for this book while eating a piece of cake. She has never met an ogre, but if she did, she would want it to be an ogre with seven arms. She spends so much time playing Simple Jim that she always forgets to brush her hair.

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Apparently, EARS ARE IMPORTANT. Little Vera has frogs in her ears, which means she can’t hear anything. Not hearing anything gets Vera into all kinds of trouble, but it also helps her make a new friend with seven arms. This book is for kids who like ogres, don’t mind eating sandwiches with dirty hands, and want to learn how to play a game that requires one friend and one bent playing card.

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ISBN 978-1-4507-8215-9

9 781450 782159