Why Freeda the Frog Might Be the Children’s Book Families Need This Summer

For children, change rarely feels small.

Adults tend to frame moving house, changing schools or going away to camp as exciting milestones.. new beginnings, fresh starts, adventures waiting to happen. But for children, those same moments can feel enormous.

Quietly overwhelming, even when they can’t fully explain why.

Because underneath the logistics sits something much bigger: leaving behind what feels safe.

Friends. Bedrooms. Familiar routines. The corner shop. The classroom seat they always choose. The bedtime rhythm of home. Childhood is built from tiny rituals, and when those rituals suddenly shift, children feel it deeply.

That emotional reality sits at the heart of Nadine Haruni’s new children’s book, Freeda the Frog Is On the Move: a warm, emotionally intelligent story arriving at exactly the right moment for modern families navigating transition.

And honestly, it feels less like a “lesson book” and more like emotional comfort disguised as storytelling.

Part of Haruni’s award winning Freeda the Frog series, the story follows Freeda as her family outgrows their lily pad home after blending families together. Suddenly, the frogs must move to a new house, a new city and a new school, a sequence of changes that many children will instantly recognise.

But rather than treating those emotions as something to quickly “fix,” the book slows down enough to acknowledge them properly.

That’s what makes it resonate.

Because childhood anxiety around change is incredibly common right now. Between relocations, blended families, school transitions, sleepaway camps and increasingly fast moving modern routines, many children are learning how to navigate uncertainty earlier than ever before.

And parents are often searching for ways to make those moments feel less frightening.

Haruni approaches the subject with noticeable empathy and emotional realism, encouraging families to see transitions not as disruptions to survive, but as experiences children can gradually grow through with the right support.

Importantly, the book also opens space for conversations parents sometimes struggle to start themselves.

How do you explain homesickness?
How do you reassure a child who doesn’t want things to change?
How do you validate fear without reinforcing it?

The author’s advice feels refreshingly grounded.

Communication, she suggests, is everything. Children cope better when they feel included rather than simply informed. Inviting them into conversations about upcoming changes, whether that means packing for a move or choosing items for camp can transform uncertainty into participation.

Equally important is maintaining familiarity wherever possible.

Routine, bedtime rituals, favourite snacks or comforting objects may seem small to adults, but to children they create emotional stability when everything else feels unfamiliar. Haruni also encourages parents to introduce children to new environments gradually whenever possible through photos, visits, maps or conversations that make the unknown feel slightly less intimidating.

But perhaps the most meaningful reminder is also the simplest:

Children don’t need adults to erase difficult emotions.
They need adults willing to sit beside them through them.

That emotional patience runs beautifully through Freeda the Frog Is On the Move.

The story never dismisses sadness or nervousness.

Instead, it gently reframes change as something capable of holding both discomfort and possibility at the same time, a nuanced emotional lesson many adults still struggle with themselves.

Visually and emotionally, the Freeda books also tap into something timeless about children’s literature: using animal characters to safely explore very human feelings.

Frogs navigating blended families, new schools and unfamiliar places somehow create enough distance for children to process emotions without feeling overwhelmed by them.

And in an era where many children’s books lean heavily toward fast entertainment or simplified positivity, there’s something refreshing about a story willing to hold emotional complexity softly and honestly.

Outside the books themselves, Haruni’s own background adds another layer to the conversation.

Alongside being an author, she’s also a practicing attorney, certified yoga instructor and mother within a blended family, experiences that clearly inform the emotional sensitivity of her storytelling.

Because ultimately, Freeda the Frog Is On the Move isn’t really about frogs at all.

It’s about helping children understand that home is not always a place that stays exactly the same. Sometimes, it’s something families carry with them together.