Fredrick the Frog: A Life Cycle Story

From a squiggly ball of jelly to a cute leaf-hopper watch Fredrick the Frog grow up in a lush green pond. Along the way he makes friends and discovers new things he can do as his body changes. An artfully illustrated childrens picture book celebrating Gods perfect plan in natures life cycle.F.R.O.G. ... To Fully Rely on God. What does that mean to you? For Fredrick as changes come we watch Gods perfect plan for him unfold. His Mama and Papa do what comes naturally. Then tiny eggs are laid his little body is formed and he matures into a fully grown frog.Original text by Ida P. Leggett who loved nature and children ... and celebrated Gods beautiful green earth with all of His creatures -- great and small. Even frogs! She Fully Relied on God. This book is dedicated to her memory.Why THIS BOOK? While illustrator Anne Gregory was a college art student in the late 1970s her Auntie Ida gave her her a time-worn draft of Fredrick the Frog handwritten with black marker on green construction paper. Please illustrate this book one day she said. I trust that youll know when the time is right. A fearless composer of poems and stories surrounding her faith in God Ida passed away many years ago.Fast-forward 30 years: the sudden passing of Annes brother Ernie was her wake up call. Ernie had been a missionary and Fully Relied on God for direction nourishment and fulfillment. His example of trusting God to lead him to where he should be gave Anne the courage to begin her own soul-searching journey. Annes career had taken her away from creating art and left little room for appreciating the little things in life. She picked up her paintbrush and plunged back into the art world.Seeking her Why for this new art adventure Anne turned to a page in her past and remembered Fredrick the Frog ... and discovered the freedom to explore her creative possibilities. Creating these paintings as her first body of work and designing this fun little childrens book became Annes Why as she began to paint once again. All of the illustrations in this book were painted in oil on canvas. Painting frogs as subject matter seemed a good place to start: there was an abundance of frogs in the pond in front of her dad childhood home. The hand-lettered type was included as a nod to Annes love of calligraphy and reminiscent of her childhood days growing up in the Catskill Mountains in Roxbury New York where she used to help her dad hand-paint signs. F.R.O.G. Fully Relying on God Ill trust that He will direct me to what comes next! -- Anne GregoryCommit your work to the Lord - and then your plans will succeed. Psalm 16:3