A Motorcyclist Croaker Lee

A MOTORCYCLIST CROAKER LEE by VIOLETA PAKALNE

If you think that you know all about frogs and their habitat, do not be mistaken – the new English book for children by Lithuanian author Violeta Pakalne will prove otherwise. In A Motorcyclist Croaker Lee, you will learn that frogs, like human beings, get bored with their lives, and long for adventures. That is what happens with the main character of Pakalne’s book, a frog named Lee, whose family leads a quiet and uneventful life in a pond with thousands of other frog families.

But Lee is an exceptional little frog. He longs to know the world that surrounds him and often ponders: Why is he a frog? and Why does he live in the pond? These questions lead him to one of the biggest adventures of his life.

Pakalne’s story does not linger over details. It rushes forward like a fast train, carrying us from pond to town, from quiet life to new and sometimes painful experiences in the outside world, and from loneliness to true friendship with a boy named Mike. Illustrations by Kestutis Sileika make this journey even more exciting and colorful.

Since the author of the book is a teacher, do not be surprised to find few useful lessons about Lee’s adventures, his failures, and at the end – his victory. The biggest lesson emerges from the relationship between Lee and Mike, where true friendship is more important than victory or honor.

Have you ever wondered what how boys and frogs differ? Whether they have similar hearts and share the same feelings? Read Pakalne’s book about Lee—who is a frog and a motorcyclist -- and his adventures. By the end, you will know the answers.

Dalia Cidzikaitė,

Editor-in-Chief of American Lithuanian Daily Draugas