The Toad from Outer Space by Faiz Kermani

8/10

Snotbubble the alien toad has crash-landed on Fizzy Frog Swamp, much to every frogs amazement as the frogs there don't tend to get visitors, let alone ones from outer space.

At first, Snotbubble is an interesting distraction from their peaceful lives. They are quite taken with his spacesuit and the look of his craft, even though it is in a state of near disrepair. It is Mudball, one of the more shrewd frogs, that thinks there is something strange about Snotbubble's story of a crash landing on their swamp.

Faiz does a lovely job of making Snotbubble a likeable character. He's adventurous, daring and in need of a change from what he is used to. Fizzy Frog Swamp is unlike any place he has ever seen, which leads to what the story is really about. The ecological issues that come with pollution, the toxic waste at Snotbubble's lake caused enough problems for his friends and needed to know if other areas were the same.

Like The Frog who was Blue, this story is all written in rhyming poetry in a similar vein to Dr. Seuss. I found it fun and would be perfect for young children to read; in fact, I could imagine teachers across the country reading this story out to their class!