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Before You Leap

️Mon Mar 26 2007


Written by	Kermit the Frog (Jim Lewis)
Published	2006
Publisher	Meredith Books
Pages	222
ISBN	0696232324

Before You Leap: A Frog's-Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons is a 224-page hardcover book written by Kermit the Frog. Muppet writer Jim Lewis ghosted the book (although he prefers to think of it as "channeling the frog").^[1]

As Kermit explains in the introduction, the book is split into two parts: "First, it's a book about my life. Second, it's a book about your life."

The first third of the book, "A Frog's Life", tells the story of the Muppets, from Kermit's point of view. He leaves the swamp, and heads to Washington, D.C., where he meets Jim Henson and stars in Sam and Friends. The Muppet gang moves to New York City, where Rowlf becomes the first Muppet star on The Jimmy Dean Show. Kermit moves on to Sesame Street, then The Muppet Show, and then on to the big screen. As the story progresses, Kermit describes his relationships with his friends, including Fozzie, Gonzo and, of course, Miss Piggy.

In the second part of the book, "Lessons for Your Life", Kermit puts his own amphibian spin on a number of popular self-improvement fads. The chapter titles spoofing self-help hits include "The Seven Dreams of Highly Effective Amphibians", "When Bad Things Happen to Good Frogs", "Don't Sweat the Small Bugs (And They're All Small Bugs)", "Moving Your Own Cheese" and "Fridays with Fozzie". In these chapters, Kermit offers advice on how to live one's life, filtered through his own experiences.

Kermit's friends make appearances scattered throughout the book aiding with Kermit's examples of life lessons, or just occasionally interrupting the text to speak for themselves. The book is illustrated with approximately 100 color photos of Kermit and the Muppets.

Notes[]

In early December 2006, Kermit made several appearances to promote the book.

The book's dedication reads "For Jim Henson, who first held me up for the world to see. And for the lovers, the dreamers, and you."

A working title for the book was A Frog's Life: Where I've Been and the Lessons I've Learned. An was released to retailers using that name, identical to the final one apart from the lettering.

A Sesame Street sketch from the early 1980s featuring Kermit at home, begins with Kermit at the typewriter thinking out loud about what to call the book he appears to be writing. One possibility he comes up with is "It's a Frog's Life, by K the F," part of which was the original working title for this book.

Before You Leap was not the first book authored by Kermit the Frog. Other books written by Kermit include Kermit's Garden of Verses (1982), For Every Child, A Better World (1993) and One Frog Can Make a Difference: Kermit's Guide to Life in the Nineties (1993).

A Milton Bradley puzzle appears in the book, specifically, the one where Kermit's bike is crushed by Piggy's motorcycle. The photo was slightly altered, replacing two posters on the left side of the image with artwork from The Muppets 2007 Calendar.

Contents[]

Thanks From The Frog (pg. 3)
Contents (pg. 4-5)
Introduction (pg. 6-7)

Part 1: A Frog's Life

Chapter 1: The Green & Wet Behind the Ears Years (pg. 9-24)
Chapter 2: Discovering the Magic Store (pg. 25-40)
Chapter 3: Finding the Rainbow Connection (pg. 40-64)
Chapter 4: It's Not That Easy Staying Green (pg. 65-73)

Part 2: A Frog's Life

Chapter 5: The Seven Dreams of Highly Effective Amphibians (pg. 74-84)
Chapter 6: Take A Flying Leap! (pg. 85-95)
Chapter 7: The Wealth of Amphibians (pg. 96-103)
Chapter 8: When Bad Things Happen to Good Frogs (pg. 104-113)
Chapter 9: Don't Sweat the Small Bugs (And They're All Small Bugs) (pg. 114-123)
Chapter 10: It's Not That Easy Eating Greens (pg. 124-137)
Chapter 11: Finding Your Inner Tadpole (pg. 138-147)
Chapter 12: Love Amphibian Style (pg. 148-161)
Chapter 13: How to Win Friends & Meet Influential People (pg. 162-175)
Chapter 14: How to Succeed at Success Without Being Too Trying (pg. 176-187)
Chapter 15: Knee-Deep in the Good Life (pg. 188-203)
Chapter 16: Moving Your Own Cheese (pg. 204-211)
Chapter 17: Fridays with Fozzie (pg. 212-219)
Chapter 18: Life's Like A Movie; Write Your Own Ending (pg. 220-223)

2012[]


Published	2012
Publisher	Little, Brown Books
ISBN	031618313X

A new, updated edition of the book, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, was released on November 6, 2012. The new hardcover version includes "new tips from Kermit," as well as new photos, and cover art. Some of the book's original content is either abridged or removed.

Removals

Kermit's thanks remove paragraphs for Meredith Publishing and The Walt Disney Company.
Portions of Kermit's introduction are moved to the introduction of Part 1.
Chapter 1 is truncated including any references to Sesame Street.
Chapter 3 omits the cease and desist letter from Miss Piggy's lawyer.
Chapter 4 is largely rewritten, but still about letting fame go to your head.
Lyrics from "Together Again" from Chapter 11 are removed.
Lyrics from "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" from Chapter 13 are removed.

Additions

Chapter 3 continues Kermit's overview of the Muppets' Hollywood journey with material about Muppets from Space, venturing into viral videos, and The Muppets.
A new chapter titled "Paparazzi, Mosquitoes & Other Pets" becomes the new Chapter 15.
A new chapter titled "Green Is What We Want to Be" becomes the new Chapter 17.

2025[]

This section is about an upcoming project, product, or production.


Published	April 22, 2025
Publisher	Hyperion Avenue
Pages	192
ISBN	1368104053

Another updated, revised edition of the book is set to be released on April 22, 2025, as a part of The Muppets: 70 Years celebration. This new edition is published by Hyperion Avenue and is reduced to 192 pages. An audio version of the book read by Kermit will be released the same day as an exclusive through Audible.

Before You Leap

Notes[]

Contents[]

2012[]

2025[]

Promotion[]

Sources[]

External links[]