Froggy Le début 2

My name is Bob Brazil. I was born in New Orleans, La., on May 18, 1948. I grew up in the nearby town of Hammond, a small town about 60 miles NE. My favorite pastime were baseball, music, fishing, drawing, and animals. At one time I had at least 6 snapping turtles in a small pond I made in my front yard. Once I had kept, for only a brief time, a small water moccasin in a jar inside the house! I used to go in our backyard to a small creek to catch turtles. People who became familiar with me and my turtle-fishing called the place Kooterville, though in my book I selected the imaginary location in a swamp area in Manchac, a small town near Lake Maurepas. Every chance I got, I could be found at that ditch catching "kooters," another name for turtles. On occasion a bullfrog might appear and, at night, they make their presence known with their loud croaking. At the age of 19, I left Hammond and moved to Northern California, though I never forgot about my heritage. My imagination helped me to re-create some events of my past, and my art training helped me to put it on paper. After dropping out of painting some years ago, I decided to take it up again. I created many scenic paintings and, one day, I decided to create a cartoon character of a frog imitating a human. I named it "Froggy." Soon I began to create other paintings of Froggy, each one in a different human setting: driving a car, dancing, fishing, sports, mingling with humans, etc. I soon came up with an idea of creating her as an infant growing up in a swamp and being surrounded with other native creatures, all working together and enjoying the simple pleasures of life without the modern conveniences present in human society. Further encouragement from family and friends inspired me to write this book. It is my wish that Froggy provides wholesome enjoyment for the young readers and the whole family. It is filled with many great object lessons as well as good humor. Though it is primarily written as a children's book, many, I hope, will enjoy it and take something away from it.