ABOUT
Author
Hi, I'm Amrit, the author of Mr. Frog and the Smog!
Stories have always been my favourite way to make sense of the world. Growing up, I loved tales of adventure and friendship, the kind that stayed with you long after the last page. But I also grew up noticing things. The air in busy cities. The trees that quietly give us life. The way everything around us seems to hold together in ways we rarely stop to appreciate.
Living in India, I saw firsthand how heavy pollution could change a place, and that experience never left me. It planted a seed that eventually became Mr. Frog and the Smog.
I wanted to write something that felt genuinely fun for young readers while carrying a message worth remembering. So I kept the characters simple and the adventure big. Mr. Frog, Miss Snail, Pirate Fox, Wise Crow, and one very well-meaning alien from Jupiter who had no idea what he was doing to our world.
I have been lucky enough to live in England, India, Australia, Hungary and Italy before finding my home in Canada. All that wandering taught me one thing above everything else, the world is more connected than we think. That truth is at the heart of this book.
When I am not writing, you will likely find me in the kitchen experimenting with a new recipe, out in nature clearing my head, or curled up somewhere quiet with a book or my knitting. I love learning new things, exploring new places, and finding moments of stillness in a busy world. Family, good food, and genuine connection are what matter most to me. I think Mr Frog carries a little of that spirit with him on his journey.
Why I wrote the book
This book started with a question I kept coming back to: how do you talk to a four year old about the state of our planet without scaring them or preaching at them?
The answer, I decided, was a frog in a hot air balloon and an alien who had no idea what he was doing wrong.
I grew up loving stories that took you somewhere unexpected while quietly leaving something behind. A feeling. An idea. A way of seeing the world a little differently. That is what I wanted Mr. Frog and the Smog to do.
The characters have simple names on purpose. Mr. Frog is a frog. Miss Snail is a snail. Young children do not need to decode anything. They can just step straight into the adventure and feel at home there.
The message at the heart of the story is something I have believed my whole life: the interconnectedness of all things. I did not want to lecture children about the environment. I wanted them to feel it through a story. To root for Apple Tree. To feel sad for Wise Crow's lost family. To understand, without being told, that what happens on one side of the world can matter on the other.
If this book makes one child look at a tree differently, or ask one good question at the dinner table, then it has done exactly what I hoped it would.
Illustrator
Stephen Stone is the illustrator behind the bold, joyful artwork that brings Mr. Frog and the Smog to life. Based in Derby, UK, Stephen has spent over 20 years creating characters for children's books, and his love for animal-led stories makes him a natural fit for this adventure.
What struck me most about Stephen's work was how much personality he gives every character. One look at Pirate Fox or Miss Snail and you already know exactly who they are. That is a rare skill, and it is what makes his illustrations so perfect for young readers who are just beginning to fall in love with books.
Stephen brought warmth, humour and a whole lot of heart to every page. I could not have asked for a better creative partner for Mr. Frog's first adventure.
