Pokko and the Drum

There is a black wolf who eats a rabbit. It would have been innocent enough, except that when the wolf repents, he suddenly depicted as white. What? A black wolf can't be sorry and "mean it"? It's really unfortunate because it was a cute book otherwise. When are book makers going to stop perpetuating this false equivalency between black and bad?!!?!?! Ridiculous!

I am so glad the Amazon algorithm brought this to my attention. I admit to buying it mainly on the cover alone, but the first few pages sealed the deal. The Illustrations are warm and glowing with new details to catch on every reading. I have little patience with children's books that have forced morals an didactic takeaways. While there is plenty to learn from this nearly-subversive tale of a little frog who marches to the beat of her own drum, it isn't spelled out for the child. We like to read it with Ravel's Bolero playing in the background.

It had the potential of being a very cute story. It’s bland and blah. My little one actually said at the end “that’s it?” ( He’s turning 5 next month, for age reference. ) It missed something great opportunities for self reflection by the main character. She is sent outdoors by her parents who didn’t want to hear her drum anymore. Animals begin to join her as they hear her drumming. Then the story jumbles. Great potential, bland story. It just ends. Not worth $18!

This book is clever and cute and unexpectedly hilarious. Me and the kids were a little surprised at one point when one of the members of the friend group spontaneously eats another member of the group, but - well - that's nature? :D Great little story, beautiful illustrations.

I absolutely love this story. The pacing. The humor. The artistry. After I got it from the library it immediately became a "must own" book and I got one for my best friend too.

I bought this for my granddaughter because the pictures looked pretty. Its a very charming story and she could read it herself. It is a lovely book.

Absolutely love Pokko and the Drum. The story and illustrations are both brilliant. 10/10 recommend!

As a music teacher, this was a great little book for perseverance and cooperation and music for everyone. I’ll share this with my grandkids and students

Matthew Forsythe, in his debut picture book, has already proven that he is a master at both weaving a great story with minimal words and creating beautiful illustrations to accompany the story. This book is about Pokko, who gets given a drum by her parents. They soon come to regret it.Considering how short the story is, I'm hesitant to give anything away, but I will say that Pokko's determination (masterfully shown in the most minimalistic way possible) is admirable, as is her parent's naivety to it.Please, go and buy this book. You won't regret it.

Beautiful illustrations and a fantastic story. My 2 year old loves this, and so do my husband and I. If you like jon klassens storytelling you'll probably like this too.

Children’s book that I found very appealing. The story progresses and develops as more and more animals become involved. It’s also a timely reminder that buying a young child a drum may not be the best path to a quiet life!

This book is beautiful. The drawings are exquisite, the characters are charming and sweet.And the story is great, it's fun and well paced. A lot of kids books can quickly get tedious to read over and over, this is not one of them.

I think parents will really empathise with Pokko’s parents, who come to regret buying him a drum! The illustrations are both charming and humorous.