American Scientist

SCIENCE COMICS: FROGS: Awesome Amphibians. Liz Prince. 128 pp. First Second, 2023. $12.99.

First Second’s graphic novel series Science Comics published Frogs: Awesome Amphibians in October 2023, and although the target age is readers 9–13, readers of any age will find this volume filled with fun facts. (Did you know that frogs use their eyeballs to help them swallow?). Liz Prince, whose biography describes her as a “lifelong amphibian-enthusiast,” writes about Fran, a young girl who moves from the city to the country with her dads because of a new job. None too thrilled about the move, she escapes into the woods to avoid unpacking, where she finds a small pond and meets a talking tadpole. When she mistakes the tadpole for a kind of fish, he decides to educate her about all things amphibian, and she finds herself in Amphibian Academy.

Fran learns about respiration processes, reproductive cycles, the basic organization of the animal kingdom, and many fascinating details about a wide variety of amphibians and frogs. Lighthearted humor permeates every page, making it fun to read while not sacrificing any scientific detail.

In this excerpt, different kinds of poison frogs are shown to embody what is called aposematism—the way some species advertise how poisonous they are, via bright colors or markings, so predators know not to eat them. Different frogs are laid out in rainbow order, illustrating the beautiful (but dangerous) diversity of these amphibians.