Days with Frog and Toad

Arnold Lobel's fourth and final collection of stories devoted to the doings of that amphibian pair, Frog and Toad - previous titles include: Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, and Frog and Toad All Year - this charming beginning reader was, together with its companions, one of my absolute favorites as a young girl. Like the other collections, Days With Frog and Toad contains five brief stories, each of which highlights the very different characters of the two friends, and how those differences play out in their relationship with one another.

In Tomorrow, we see an indolent Toad spurred to action in his cleaning, not by Frog's observations of his house, but by a desire to make the following day a work-free experience. Frog show more convinces Toad to keep trying, in The Kite, despite the ridicule of some local robins, who have him convinced that their effort to fly a kite is doomed to failure. Shivers depicts the delights of a well-told ghost story (concerning the Old Dark Frog), when shared around a cozy fire, while The Hat sees Frog resorting to another of his stratagems (see Spring, in Frog and Toad Are Friends, for another example of this), when his gift to Toad isn't quite the thing. Finally, companionship and solitude are explored in Alone, when Frog goes off to meditate, and a worried Toad follows after him.

Delightfully humorous - in a subtle, rather than a slapstick style - with moments both poignant and entertaining, these tales can be read again and again with pleasure - something that is not entirely accidental, I imagine, given their status as "beginning readers." The artwork is appealing, in both its simplicity and expressiveness - I particular like the final scene, in this final Frog and Toad book, in which the two friends sit quietly together on a rock, staring out across the river - and greatly adds to the charm of the text. All in all: a real winner! show less

First sentence: Toad woke up. "Drat!" he said. "This house is a mess. I have so much work to do." Frog looked through the window. "Toad, you are right," said Frog. "It is a mess." Toad pulled the covers over his head. "I will do it tomorrow," said Toad. "Today I will take life easy." Frog came into the house. "Toad," said Frog, "your pants and jacket are lying on the floor." "Tomorrow," said Toad from under the covers. "Your kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes," said Frog. "Tomorrow," said Toad. "There is dust on your chairs." "Tomorrow," said Toad. "Your windows need scrubbing," said Frog. "Your plants need watering." "Tomorrow!" cried Toad. "I will do it all tomorrow!" Toad sat on the edge of his bed. "Blah," said Toad. "I feel show more down in the dumps." "Why?" asked Frog. "I am thinking about tomorrow," said Toad. "I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do." "Yes," said Frog, "tomorrow will be a very hard day for you."

ETA: I listened to this on audio. They added an additional story, "Dream" which is found in Frog and Toad Together.

This Frog and Toad book contains five stories: "Tomorrow," "The Kite," "Shivers," "The Hat," and "Alone." I really, really enjoy three of these stories.

Tomorrow is probably my favorite in this collection. (And it's useful for inspiration.) I love Toad's drat's and blah's. Toad has a choice to make--to do the work of each day on that day, to take the work with the pleasure, OR to put off all the work so he can have all the pleasure. But there is always a day of reckoning. So perhaps, it's best that Toad learns this lesson quickly!

The Hat is a delightful story. Frog gives Toad a birthday present, a hat. But the hat is much too big for his friend. He feels awful about that. How can he fix the hat without his friend realizing it?!

Alone is another wonderful story! Toad discovers a note on his friend Frog's door. A note saying that Frog wants to be alone for a while! Toad worries and panics a bit! Why oh why oh why would Frog ever want time away from him?! Does this mean that Frog doesn't want to spend any time with him? Does it mean that Frog doesn't want him as a best friend anymore?!

The Kite is a story about diligence and perseverance. The two friends are having trouble getting their kite to fly. One friend wants to give up, wants to just admit that their kite is junk and that it will never, ever fly. The other wants to keep trying. It's a playful story. And Frog and Toad do shine in it!

Shivers is about the two friends telling a ghost story and getting delicious shivers. show less

The Frog and Toad books have got to be some of the best early readers out there, and Days with Frog and Toad was my oldest child’s favorite of the Frog and Toad books.

These stories offer an an exploration of friendship with a nice combination of whimsy and silliness, delivered with an underlying warmth. "Shivers," a tongue-in-cheek ghost story, is probably our favorite individual story in the Frog and Toad canon. If you have a young child who is ready to start with basic readers give these a try!

Shivers is the best Frog and Toad story ever, followed closely by Alone and both stories are in this compilation. Who hasn't enjoyed hearing or telling a scary story just to feel the shivers that are only fun while safely in your own home or snuggled in a sleeping bag?
The best part?
"'Frog' said Toad, 'Did this really happen?'
'Maybe it did and maybe it didn't,' said Frog...
[and later:]
'Frog,' said Toad,'Was that a true story?'
'Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't'"

And finally: "Frog and Toad sat close by the fire. They were scared. Their tea cups shook in their hands.They were having the shivers. It was a good, warm feeling."

And who hasn't needed time alone just to ponder life while a friend tries to (needlessly) help?
These stories are show more quite enchanting and the illustrations are detailed to the point that my 7 year old would stop me reading in order to point out things he noticed. show less

This book would be a great book to use for young readers who are eager to jump into chapter books, or for older students who might be struggling with their reading fluency.
This book is playful, engaging, and easy to follow. This book is all about a frog and a toad who go on many different adventures.

Days With Frog & Toad by Arnold Lobel is a picture book that consists of five short stories inside of one book. I feel as if each little story had its own lesson inside. The first story is called “Tomorrow” and the major theme would be to not put your chores or important tasks off. It can serve as a great life lesson for a child that you should not put things off so you can take life easy right now, when you can strive to achieve your goals and work. So after you are all finished, then you can take the extra time to enjoy. It is good to teach them that it is a bad and hard habit to break once you start procrastinating. This book shows great themes of adventure, with the characters going outside and exploring and friendship, doing show more everything with a person and having quality time. Lastly, for this picture book the text goes complementary with the images. show less

Primary. This is such a sweet book about friendship. Each chapter has a different story, so it is like a bunch of little books put together. The chapters talk about frog and toad's days and what they do.
This book would be a great addition to my classroom because it is an easy reader with a lot of dialogue and great pictures. The book is also in a series and on the longer side of easy readers for kids wanting a bigger challenge.