The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Gwen Millward Grades PreK-3 32 pages Schwartz & Wade October 2009 Hardcover     When two little girls discover a bog baby during a secret trip to a forbidden pond, they can’t resist taking the adorable creature home. Although they care for it as best they can, the sweet little bog baby soon becomes ill. For a short time, the girls wrestle with asking their mother for help. But when the bog baby’s life hangs in the balance, the truth comes out. Now the girls are faced with a difficult decision in order to save the pet they love. The Bog Baby is a simple story based on the old saying, “If you love something, set it free.” A hard lesson for every child who has ever caught a toad, or frog or other living creature and loved it to death. Written by award-winning author Jeanne Willis, this charming tale will warm the hearts of children and adults alike. The delightful illustrations by Gwen Millward capture the essence of springtime in such a way you can almost smell the fresh, flower-scented air. There is no doubt that everyone who reads this book will yearn for bog baby of their own, or at least a magic pond where they can watch the delightful creatures float on their backs and suck on their toes.     web reviews   Niki Masse Schoenfeldt/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)