Troy author debuts new children’s book in time for World Frog Day

TROY — Troy children’s author Katherine Mitropoulos is spreading the word about service, life balance and nature, releasing her new book, “Ready… Set… Frog!” just in time for World Frog Day.

World Frog Day was March 20, and Mitropoulos spent the day reading her new book to the students at Brookfield Academy in Troy.

“It’s a day to raise awareness of the plight of amphibians,” said Mark Vassallo, the amphibian department supervisor at the Detroit Zoo. “We try to bring light to the extinction crisis that is affecting a lot of amphibians around the world.”

Mitropoulos said she wanted to focus on a frog as her main character because it was an animal she and her editor felt young children could connect with.

“We picked a frog because we wanted an animal that is small, because kids often feel small around adults,” she explained. “We wanted the animal to also be powerful and strong and able to do big things. They can jump from the ground into the trees. They are relatable to kids.”

Mitropoulos said her book could be succinctly described as being about finding happiness through being of service to others.

“‘Ready… Set… Frog!’ is my first children’s book. It was published last week and is a picture book about a frog with the message of helping kids to learn how to balance helping themselves and helping others. … It’s something even most grown-ups need help with.”

She said this was an important topic for her because by trying to strike a balance, people can often end up helping both others and themselves even more than just focusing on one or the other.

“I wanted to write about this topic because I wanted a way to teach kids that helping others is important, but it’s also OK to say ‘no’ sometimes and take a moment for themselves,” Mitropoulos said. “They don’t always have to stop what they are doing at every moment and put aside their goals, but that sometimes, when you do help others, sometimes you also end up helping yourself and you don’t even realize it.”

The book began as something to occupy her time during the COVID-19 lockdown, but she soon realized that it could have a real benefit for children, such as her 5-year-old daughter, Petra.

“I used to be a speech pathologist, and now I do woodworking. My family and I have a small shop, and we make furniture,” said Mitropoulos. “I started writing the book about a year ago as your typical COVID lockdown project. I had some extra time and training in literacy, so I thought I should try it, because I always wanted to try it.”

Launching the book in conjunction with World Frog Day was something she thought would be a great way to tie the lessons in the book to real world issues and the new season.

“We wanted to launch today to bring more attention to frogs,” said Mitropoulos. “A book about frogs that is set outside is a great transition out of winter, since it’s also the first day of spring.”

Vassallo said he was glad to see more people in the community taking note of World Frog Day.

“Amphibians are an indicator species, which means that if their populations aren’t doing well or are in decline, it’s an indication of poor ecological health,” he said. “Our fate is tied to the amphibians.”

He added that reaching out to young children on the topic of nature and conservation is doubly important.

“Reaching out to children is important,” Vassallo remarked. “You want to build that appreciation for wildlife and nature at a young age. These early lessons resonate throughout their lives and will affect their later decisions on voting habits, land use and water use.”

With March 20 being the first day of spring, Vassallo said it’s a good time of year to pay a bit of attention to frogs and nature in general.

“This time of year is very important to amphibians,” he said. “The snow melt greatly affects them. I encourage people to listen for frog calls and other naturalist events to give them the chance to learn a thing or two about these animals. It’s also good for people’s mental health to slow down and take in some nature or look into some programs such as those we have here at the zoo.”

Mitropoulos said that confronting issues about conservation can seem overwhelming, but so can writing a book. She hopes people have the courage to try their best in both areas.

“If you set your mind to something like writing a book, you can do it. It just takes time and patience,” she remarked. “If you surround yourself with good people, you can achieve your goals.”

Mitropoulos’ book is available for purchase at www.amazon.com.