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1001 Stories Collection

Five Little Speckled Frogs

1001 Five Little Speckled Frogs2
Added on 12th August 2020

Oral tradition Song from America

Animals
1001

Five little frogs take it in turns to jump from a log to a pool.

Story

Five Little Speckled Frogs is a nursery rhyme that originated in the United States. One by one, after eating their delicious bugs, the frogs jump from their speckled log into the cool water until there are no frogs left.

Why we chose it

It offers great opportunities for actions and sound effects – as well as teaching counting backwards. It was one of the rhymes chosen for the Nursery Rhyme room in our Time for Bed exhibition and a frog featured on the mural painted by Helen Cooper which can now be found in Small Worlds.

Where it came from

There appears to be no known origin for this song. It is often used as a counting game, to help children with counting backwards.

Where it went next

The song is hugely popular and is sung at nurseries all over the world, and is usually accompanied by actions and frog jumps around the room.

Associated stories

It is included in many books of nursery rhymes and songs, and there are lots of stand-alone books too, often with touch-and-feel elements. Frogs are very popular in children’s stories, from the Aboriginal myth of Tiddalik, to Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Jeremy Fisher (Jeremy also appears in the Royal Ballet’s Tales of Beatrix Potter) to Two Frogs by Chris Wormell.

Added on 12th August 2020

Oral tradition Song from America

Animals
1001