Frog on a Log by Kes Gray and Jim Field

This is on my pick of funny books for the year, which I had previously missed out on (no, I don't have that list anywhere, but I probably should).

The story begins with a bossy cat, loudly telling a frog he should be sitting on a log. When the frog demurs, the cat sets out on an explosive journey of rhymes. Only cats can sit on mats and only hares can sit on chairs. There's worse things than sitting on a splintery log though - what about lions sitting on irons or storks on forks? Finally, frog wonders what dogs sit on....oops.

Originally published in the UK, the art has what I think of as distinctive British style with pop-eyes and silly details and slightly tilted perspectives. The animals' all have individual expressions ranging from the shocked to the smugly content and as frog learns about proper sitting technique his own expression goes from annoyed to exuberant as he gets into the rhyming game, then resigned at the twist in the ending.

Verdict: A hilarious story that uses rhymes the way they should be used - to make everyone explode in hysterical laughter. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780545687911; Published 2014 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium