World Frog Day

It’s March, which means the wood frogs have been coming out to breed in the US! There’s nothing quite like strolling by a pond and hearing a chorus of calling frogs. March 20th is also World Frog Day, which makes it the perfect time to celebrate these amphibians in puzzle form!

I started my froggy celebration with this amazing puzzle titled Love Me! with art by Andrea Marquis in 1000 pieces from JaCaRou Puzzles. Just look at those colors!

Love Me! by JaCaRou Puzzles

I immediately knew I wanted to work this puzzle for this post because those colors are so amazing, but I wasn’t really thinking about the size or complexity. At 1000 pieces, this one was admittedly a bit tricky. It took me a while to wrap my head around where to start. Fortunately, I had a friend over to help me get started. She worked on the oranges and fizzily white/red texture in the background while I tackled the eye and the teals. Then, I finished up the thick lines in the background and the greens. Ultimately, I was left with a big tray of reds and pinks, but once I filled in the shadows and purple specks, there wasn’t too much left. And the piece shapes were diverse enough that it was pretty quick to finish up. The end result is stunning! 

Did you know there are actually more than 6000 species of frogs worldwide! If you remember from my reptiles blog post, I did my PhD research in a lab group that studies reptiles and amphibians, and I was able to tag along with my labmates a few times to the vernal pools (temporary ponds) to scope out the frogs and salamanders. Although they are often wet from being in the water, they’re not slimy at all! One of my labmates was studying how noise from nearby roads might impact the breeding behavior of wood frogs, since they need to call to find their mates. As ecologists, we often explored “anthropogenic,” or human-caused, impacts on wildlife. I liked this next puzzle, which turned that idea around.

Utopia by New York Puzzle Co.

This 500-piece puzzle from New York Puzzle Company is titled Utopia. I was captivated by this art by Victo Ngai the moment I saw it, even if it is a little….unusual! It’s a bit of a dystopian scene for the humans, but the animals inside the frog’s mouth seem to be doing just fine. I attempted to speed puzzle this one (I’ve been practicing for the USA Jigsaw Nationals this month!), and the details in the mouth really tripped me up. But once I slowed down and looked at the textures, it all came together. I may have to do this puzzle again to really appreciate the details. I am so taken with all of Victo Ngai’s puzzles! I have several, and the rest are definitely on my wish list! 

D-Toys has a puzzle with more realistic illustrations of frogs, which look like scientific drawings. I also absolutely love this New York Puzzle Company 20-piece mini puzzle titled Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

Frogs by D-Toys

Mr. Jeremy Fisher by New York Puzzle Co.

Next up in my puzzle salute to frogs was Shaken & Stirred with art by Nicole LaRue in 500 pieces from Gibbs Smith and Spumoni.

Shaken & Stirred by Gibbs Smith

 This puzzle has fairly stiff white board pieces, and the text-based design was so much fun! I admit the black and white frog was a bit of a challenge at the end, but I loved this art style so much, I also puzzled Hamburger & Fries and have Big & Small, Road Trip, and Friend or Foe on my wish list! 

Another colorful frog puzzle on my wish list is Rainforest Frog in 300 pieces from Buffalo Games. I love those rainbow colors! 

Rainforest Frog by Buffalo Games

I also considered doing Jungle Gym with art by Royce B. McClure in 500 pieces from SunsOut. As much as I love fun and colorful illustrations of frogs, it’s nice to have something a little more grounded in the species that are actually out in the world.

Jungle Gym by SunsOut

SunsOut also has a shaped frog puzzle called Paradise Frogs. And speaking of shaped puzzles, I’ve been intrigued by these three-dimensional crystal puzzles from Bepuzzled, including the Frogs 3D Crystal Puzzle! The last frog puzzle I wanted to share from my wishlist is Larry’s Chance Encounter from Puzzle Twist. I’m so curious what the twist is (but don’t spoil it for me)!

Paradise Frogs by Magnolia Puzzles

Frogs 3D Crystal Puzzle by BePuzzled

Larry’s Chance Encounter by Puzzle Twist

Of course there are plenty of other options to tickle your frog fancy in Puzzle Warehouse’s reptile and amphibian category. Have you completed any frog puzzles? What under-apprecaited animals would you like to see included more often on puzzles?

- Gail, @jiggies_and_gems