Frog Song
“This imaginative story of a treefrog from Panama brings to light the desperate plight of frogs and salamanders around the globe. In Frog Song, Megan Hollingsworth skillfully uses poetry and prose to highlight this important conservation issue for children and adults alike.” Douglas W. Tallamy ∣ Homegrown National Park founder & author of Nature’s Best Hope
“For older kids ready to engage with the tough climate issues alongside Toughie the frog, Frog Song offers robust information, resources, engagement options, and a reflective hint at new ways of seeing our complex predicament.” Leslie Davenport ∣ CIIS Climate Psychology Certificate lead & author of What To Do When Climate Change Scares You
Amphibians are the most globally endangered vertebrates.
We can help them. We can be their bridges.
Cover illustration by Bonnie Gordon-Lucas based on Robin D. Moore's signature photo of an Amazon gladiator frog.
Written by Megan (Meg) Hollingsworth and illustrated by Bonnie Gordon-Lucas, Frog Song leads with an interspecies love poem inspired by the life of Toughie, the last known living Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog, whose story is part of a big death that holds potential for as big a birth.
Toughie was one of several amphibians brought to the United States from Panama in 2005 during a rescue mission coordinated by Zoo Atlanta and Atlanta Botanical Garden to protect as many individuals as possible from a lethal chytrid fungus commonly known as Bd.
From the section on Toughie’s life: After nearly a decade of silence, Toughie started singing in 2014. Mark Mandica was first to record Toughie’s voice. Then, in December 2015, Toughie’s song played as a photo of him from Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark was shwon on St. Peter’s Basicala during the “Illuminating Our Common Home” project. Toughie sang to millions of people watching that illumination. (p. 35)
With Toughie’s true story, information on the global ecological health crisis, illustration activities, conservation homework options, and an expanded glossary, Frog Song supports further learning and imagination put to practical action for everyone’s benefit.
Meg first wrote the poem “Frog Song” in 2016 following Toughie’s death that September and published the limited edition hardcover of Frog Song in 2023 as a gift for her father, Thomas H. Hollingsworth, M.D. Also known as “the frog doctor,” Dr. Hollingsworth served as a surgeon in the Vietnam War and had a room filled with frog figurines for young patients in his family practice in Indiana.
Frog Song is recommended for readers ages 9 and up. The limited first edition sewn hardcover, printed cooperatively with Calverts North Star Press, is available through this website and independent bookstores.
"Although death and extinction are difficult to think about, the themes raised in Frog Song have been valuable for our children's development. Our eight-year-old said he learned things he didn't know and enjoyed the illustrations. Our twelve-year-old said it's good that Megan Hollingsworth wrote a book like this." Donald Edward Winslow, PhD ∣ ecologist & assistant professor—Indiana Academy
“Frog Song is a solid foundation and catalyst for an individual or group study of multiple subjects from amphibians to extinction to death and loss. Importantly, Frog Song’s content can move study on to creating action plans. Action is where hope grows.” Julie Hancock ∣ retired science teacher
illustrator:
BONNIE GORDON-LUCAS is an illustrator, animal lover, and visual communicator. Bonnie’s paintings are inspired by song titles, famous quotes, twisted misquotes, limericks, lyrics, and poems. Bonnie’s clients include The American Cancer Society, Kar-Ben Publishing, No Starch Press, Sunrise Greetings, Cricket Magazine, Riley Hospital for Children, Author House, Pittspopany Press, and Bahai Resources.
design & editing:
GRACE VEJVODA, ROSEMARY MIDDLEBROOK, and SARAH HOGGATT
Frog Song is also available through the Bozeman Public Library and independent bookstores: Fact & Fiction (Missoula, MT), Elk River Books (Livingston, MT), The Pendle Hill Bookstore (Wallingford, PA), and Morgenstern Books (Bloomington, IN).
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