In Dancing Frogs and Other Creatures in Verse, Zai Whitaker—a renowned writer and naturalist—presents animal poems for children that explore peculiar behaviours through catchy rhymes and imaginative language. The collection of thirty verses covers amphibians, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, mammals and even fossils of reptiles!
In the titular poem ‘Dancing Frogs’, Zai humorously draws the reader’s attention to the evolved ‘dancing’ behaviour of the frogs in order to attract mates, as the singing (croaking) to woo—the romantic ballads—were getting drowned in the sound of gushing streams and roaring waterfalls of their habitat. That the dancing frogs are still seen today is proof that the strategy worked!
Each verse is preceded by a 100-150-word description where Zai has focused on some well-known character traits, distinctive or curious behaviour that may seem whimsical or odd to the observer, and the reason for the same, helping to foster love for both poetry and the natural world.
The verse that I enjoyed the most, one that might tickle the taxonomists too, was ‘Ridiculous Names’. Did you know that the Paca is a rodent and so is the Coypu? I did not. Nor did I know Beyonce horsefly! Every species has a unique scientific name. The first person to formally ‘describe’ a species in a scientific publication is given the privilege of naming it. This name can refer to a physical feature, such as colour or shape, or be named to honour a particular person. There are numerous entertaining taxonomic anecdotes. The buzz created by Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae immortalized the pop star in the insect world!
The cover is attractive with Bhargavi Rudraraju’s vivid illustrations of some of the creatures featured within, however all illustrations inside are in black and white. The inside illustrations in colour would have greatly added to attracting a younger audience too, to enjoy the collection.