Arnold Lobel (1933–1987)

One of four Frog and Toad story collections from Arnold Lobel - companion volumes include Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together and Days with Frog and Toad - this charming beginning reader was (along with the other three books) a girlhood favorite of mine, and when I return to the world of those two amphibian friends, as an adult, it is with the happy feeling of coming home. In five brief selections, we see Frog dragging a very reluctant Toad out of the house one snowy Winter show more day, to go sledding (Down the Hill); we listen to the tale of Frog's childhood search for Spring, when he was "not much bigger than a pollywog" (The Corner); and we accompany Toad as he sets out on an ill-fated journey to provide his friend with a treat, one hot summer day (Ice Cream). The Surprise, set in October, as the leaves are falling, sees each of the two friends performing a kind deed for the other; while Christmas Eve brings the collection full-circle, with a worried Toad imagining that Frog has experienced some mishap in the snow, on his way to their holiday celebration.

These Frog and Toad stories have such charm! I am always won over by Lobel's understated sense of humor, and by his sensitive appreciation for the complexities of friendship between two very different characters. It doesn't hurt that his artwork is so very appealing, with its simple lines and colors, and drolly expressive faces, either! I was particularly struck, during this latest reread, by the similarities between Down the Hill, which sees a grumpy Toad returning home to his warm bed, and The Cookies (found in Frog and Toad Together), in which he grouchily returns home to bake a cake! Christmas Eve also stood out to me, with Toad's determination (even if occasioned by some rather silly worries) to rescue his friend. All in all, a wonderful book for beginning readers, one I recommend to little frogs and toads everywhere! show less

"Arthur had been a popular name that year."

Love all the surreal bits and pieces this year, from the dark backgrounded cover, to the chick riding his mom's head, to the different animals having different ideas of what makes chicks disappear, to the not-a-barn owl going all detective (including a fight with a fox) to the dramatic rescue.

I would have loved this as a child... and I got a kick out of it today, too. Benchley's pretty darn brilliant.
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Reread. That chick is very lucky that Ralph show more and the fox have, apparently, already had their dinners.... A fairly advanced leveled reader... for all ages. show less

Arnold Lobel's four Frog and Toad books - Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year and Days with Frog and Toad - were some of my absolute favorites as a girl, and I read them again and again, never tiring of those two amphibian friends, and their various activities and adventures. This first entry in the series, originally published in 1970, and chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1971, contains five brief stories (as do all the Frog and Toad titles), and show more introduces us to the somewhat irascible Toad, impatient and sometimes rather gloomy, and the more optimistic Frog, calm and very kindhearted.

Here, in Spring, we see Frog, attempting to waken his resistant friend at the end of a long winter's hibernation, and resorting to an amusing subterfuge. It's Frog who is in bed in The Story, as a concerned Toad, worried for his friend's health, tries to come up with a tale to keep him entertained. A Lost Button details the friends' search for Toad's missing jacket-button, while A Swim follows them as they take a dip - with humorous results, when Toad is reluctant to allow others to see his swimming suit - in the stream. Finally, The Letter sees Frog attempting to ameliorate Toad's depression, at his lack of correspondence.

Warmhearted without being sentimental, humorous without being hilarious, these simple stories have a gentle quality that is reassuring for young readers, while the adorable illustrations - greens and browns predominating - are both engaging and soothing. Of course, any devotee of these characters has to ask herself, at some point, whether she is more of a Frog or a Toad. I suspect that, although I'd like to be more of a Frog, I'm frequently a bit of a Toad. What can I say? I've been known to lose my temper, when my belongings go missing; to struggle to leave my comfortable bed, on particularly weary mornings; and to refuse (point-blank) to be seen in certain apparel. Yep, I'm definitely more of a Toad. Still, a woman can always try to be more frog-like, can't she...? show less

The second of Arnold Lobel's four Frog and Toad story collections for beginning readers - the first being the Caldecott Honor Book Frog and Toad Are Friends, and the third and fourth being Frog and Toad All Year and Days with Frog and Toad - this delightful little volume, together with its three companions, was one of my reading staples, as a young girl. Like all the Frog and Toad books, it contains five brief tales, each of which highlights some important characteristic of one or both of show more its amphibian heroes, and each of which benefits from Lobel's uniquely understated sense of humor, compassionate eye for the (very human) foibles of his subjects, and appealing artwork.

In A List, we see the dangers of becoming too inflexible about our plans and routines, when Toad makes a list of things to do one day, and then, finding himself deprived of that list by the wind, refuses to do anything at all! The Garden follows Toad as, determined to have a beautiful garden like Frog, he impatiently waits for his seeds to grow, trying everything he can, from playing his violin to haranguing them, to hurry their germination along. Cookies offers a hilarious examination of will power and indulgence, as Frog and Toad discuss the necessity of putting away the cookies they are enjoying, all while they continue to eat. The 'successful' solution supplied by Frog ends up a temporary measure, at best! Inspired by the fairy-tales they have been reading, Frog and Toad set out to explore in Dragons and Giants, encountering a number of terrifying dangers - everything from snakes to avalanches - and insisting (even as they flee and hide) that they are not afraid. Finally, Toad's fantasies of being the best (and of showing up his friend) lead to unexpected - but thankfully unreal - results in The Dream.

As always, when rereading one of these classics of beginning-reader literature, I am struck by the immense authorial skill it takes to accomplish so much - to communicate such subtle nuances of emotion; to explore, both humorously and compassionately, the vagaries of personality, and of human (I mean amphibian!) friendship - with such a limited vocabulary. It's simply astonishing! Unlike the earlier Frog and Toad book, which won a Caldecott Honor for its artwork, Frog and Toad Together was awarded a Newbery Honor for its text - one of the few early readers that can boast that distinction - and it not difficult to see why! Of course, the artwork is also immensely appealing (as is always the case with Lobel), making this an ideal title for young children just getting going with independent reading. Highly recommended, to all young frog and toads (I was, and still am more of a Toad than a Frog) looking for good books! show less