Why? by Nikolai Popov

Nikolai Popov- author(1996). Why? New York: North-South Books. ISBN: 1558585346.

Author website: No official web site found.

Media: pastel

Genre: juvenile fiction, war

Annotation

A story about a conflict between a frog and a mouse that starts out as a simple act of jealousy and quickly escalates into a full-blown war between mice and frogs.

My thoughts

This wordless tale, about a frog and mouse in a meadow, turns into a meaningful commentary on the futility and pointlessness of war. At first, this story was registered a giggle of understanding. This response quickly changed as the story and ploys accelerated.

The story begins with a frog sitting happily on a rock with a flower. Nearby, a straight-faced mouse also is sitting but with a yellow umbrella. The mouse looks over at the frog and decides that he wants that particular flower even though there are a dozen others of that same flower growing in that vicinity. The mouse casts his umbrella aside and bombards the frog with both fists scaring the frog and using the opportunity to snatch the flower for his own self. Two larger frogs defend the smaller and scare the mouse away. They dance and joyfully celebrate throwing dozens of flowers until the mouse returns with friends in a mouse boot tank arms with guns. The two parties each have loses and victories until the final catastrophe and they are left in a battle-scarred field. Everything is gone. There are no more flowers for anyone.

The seemingly simple and avoidable incident between the frog and mouse and shows how events can easily accelerate into a crisis’s then warped into a full-blown war. It demonstrates the importance of not only avoiding potential incidents that can accelerate but also the need for conflict resolution. This book would work well in a war related lesson plan to get children thinking about the effects of war. Being wordless, will allow students to interpret the story and draw their own conclusions. This should encourage students to become more comfortable with discussing this difficult theme.  

Curricular connections

History 4^th grade and up

Literary devices

Use of Metaphor: The battle between frog and mouse can represent war in general. 

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 4 and up.