Overview

An environmental disaster forces some wild animals from the forest into a shelter with some domesticated animals. This shelter, a haus kuk, or kitchen, is in a small fishing village in Lae, Papua New Guinea. Each animal has a role to play and a place to sleep, but hard work is part of everyday life. When he loses his entire family, Loki Enough, a little green tree frog, moves into the haus kuk. Loki develops an Elvis persona that puts on an act, sings and dances in the haus kuk. This act helps Loki to hide his sadness and insecurities. Loki doesn't like working. He adds trickery to the performance to get him free meals, but soon the other animals see through Loki's tricks. The more he tries, the more the haus kuk tenants resent Loki. One day, Loki is upset because no-one gives him food, so he disrespects Kande Kaks, the oldest and most responsible timekeeper of the haus kuk. This incident puts Loki's life in danger. Nonetheless, Kande Kaks takes Loki under his wing and teaches Loki about kindness, love and the benefits of hard work. Soon, a special friendship begins and harmony is restored in the haus kuk.

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9780980750348

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Joycelin Leahy is a gifted Papua New Guinean artist and narrator. This little story is set in a small coastal village. It tells of the somewhat testy relationships between a variety of animals that find themselves sheltering together in an abandoned cook house. The villain is a lazy self-possessed frog, the hero and peacemaker a generous and tolerant rooster . Rae Sheridan, Museum Educator and Author. The Lazy Little Frog by Joycelin Kauc Leahy is a delightful universal story suited for children of all ages. It is a story about love, kindness and friendship. The story gives an insight into life in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Joycelin wrote this book in English and Tok Pisin to assist in language preservation in PNG. This is a wonderful example of how different languages can be used to portray a story. All cultural terms are delivered in an accessible manner and easy to understand . Pam Jeffs - Author Turtle Island. Prepare to be charmed by this beautifully illustrated tale by Joycelin Kauc Leahy featuring Loki, the little lazy frog who is always too busy having fun to be any good at catching food. Singing Elvis makes Loki happy, but that's no use to the other animals in the village and no one cares he has no lunch. What if Loki could have a full belly and make all the other animals happy, too? First he'll need to make friends by learning how to work together- which can be the best fun of all . Isabel D'Avila Winter - Brisbane Author Beautifully told, in a lively and colourful Papua New Guinea way of storytelling. I like the modernized usages of both languages, English and Tok Pisin. There is so much linguistic acrobatism there such as the fly taking off like Air Niugini in the Tok Pisin version of the story. Simply beautiful! Russell Soaba - Author, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

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