Tadpole, Tadpole, What Do You See?

By Carol Jones. Shortlistee of the Best Children’s Picture Book Text competition 2023

Spread 1

Tadpole starts wriggling and jiggling around,

then plops from his egg with hardly a sound.

Spread 2

‘Tadpole, Tadpole, what do you see,

as you sit in the pond; so quietly free?’

‘Nothing,’ said Tadpole, ‘It’s murky and dim,

but it’s warm and safe until I can swim.’

Spread 3

Tadpole eats jelly, for many long days,

Now he’s longer and stronger; he swims and he plays.

Spread 4

‘Tadpole, Tadpole, what do you see,

as you dash and you splash; so swimmingly free?’

‘Oh, algae and mosses and watery weeds,

I feast all day long as I race through the reeds.’

Continued…