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Palo Alto school children gave the mother of a 4-year-old boy who died in 2005 more than a dozen frog sculptures Thursday after her son's frog-themed memorial fountain was stolen from Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in early October.

Kim Perlmutter donated the original cast-stone frog sculpture after her son, Joey, died suddenly of a viral infection in 2005. She and Joey had spent countless hours at Gamble Garden, a place she said was "near and dear to our hearts."

The frog was attached to a fountain and spurted water from its mouth. Despite news articles and pleas from garden staff, it has not been returned.

But now the frogs have multiplied.

Students from Lucille M. Nixon and Escondido elementary schools made more than a dozen whimsical, 8-inch-tall green ceramic frogs with protruding tongues for Perlmutter. The sculptures were crafted during an after-school art class run by Palo Alto Parents and Professionals for Art (PAPPA).

Frank Coniglio, a PAPPA ceramics teacher, heard about the theft and was upset, he said.

"One month ago, I was touched and enraged at the same time that somebody would do something like that," he said Thursday.

Coniglio didn't initially tell his students about Joey or the stolen sculpture, but he saw a potential lesson in creating and donating the frogs, he said.

After the amphibians were glazed and fired and cooled, he asked if the children wanted to give their sculptures to Perlmutter in Joey's memory, he said.

On Thanksgiving Eve, Perlmutter's phone rang with news of a reincarnation of sorts, she said. Coniglio invited her to come to his Nixon class to receive the frog progeny.

"I don't think kids part with what they make. I'm still reeling from it. It's a profound feeling. These kids are my son's age. He would have been 8 years old," Perlmutter said.

An artist for most of his life, Coniglio said nothing has been more enjoyable than the current project.

"It was so much fun. Everybody wins," he said.

Alma Andino, 8, was happy to donate her frog, a squat, green creature with a gaping mouth, serpentine pink tongue and two fangs, she said.

"I have a whole shelf of sculptures, and I felt sorry for Kim and really sorry for Joey," she said.

After Joey died, Perlmutter started a business, Inviting Spaces by Kim, in the boy's memory. She designs gardens with special spaces for children, she said.

Perlmutter considered putting the gift frogs in clients' gardens but decided they will reside at her home as part of her "froggie collection." she said.

"They're precious. They are all sitting there with their mouths open," she said.

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