Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite

Young Owen Jester is out of sorts. He has recently moved to the home of his ailing grandfather, and he has ongoing difficulties with his grandfather's live-in nurse, Earlene. Owen secretly escapes to a near-by pond where he captures a bullfrog and decides to keep the frog as a pet. With his best friends, Stumpy and Travis, Owen decides to build a large chickenwire pen so that his bullfrog Tooley Graham can have a larger area in which to swim and catch pond insects to eat.

Much to his dismay, Owen's young neighbor, Viola, tells Owen that bullfrogs don't like names, and they want to be free. Owen and his friends continually attempt to avoid Viola, but she proves to be a clever and persistent pest.

When Owen finds a treasure which was accidentally released from a moving train near the tracks at his grandfather's home, Owen solicits the assistance of his friends in attempting to make use of the treasure. In the end, he must concede that pesky little Viola has the right plan and the right information to make the treasure one which all the children can enjoy.

The book is a delight for boys and girls in the middle elementary years. There is just enough suspense and just enough realistic interaction between the children such that it will hold the interest of children from start to finish.