Genre: Frog and Toad Together (Lobel, 1971) is one of the quintessential classics of children’s picture books for beginning readers. Beautiful artwork, good solid word choices that entertain without overwhelming or confusing new readers, and a timeless message all help give the book staying power decades after it was first published.
Book Summary: The book is divided into five small stories only connected with each other by setting and characters. "A List" deals with Toad writing a list of everything is his going to do that day, only to lose it in the wind and become paralyzed with indecision – how can he chase his list if chasing his list was not on the list of things to do? Frog is unable to find it and they end up falling asleep outside in the middle of the walk, which is okay with Toad, as he remembers that was the last thing on his list, so he writes that in the dirt and crosses it out. "The Garden" deals with Toad trying to plant a flower garden, and being very impatient with the rate of growth, doing many things to ‘help’ including keeping the garden company in the dark and playing music for it. He finally falls asleep, and the plants push up above the surface of the garden while he is asleep. "Cookies" might be my favorite of all Frog and Toad stories. Toad bakes cookies, and they are so good Frog and Toad cannot stop eating them. Frog puts them away – but they can just get them out again says Toad. They consider more and more elaborate things to stop from eating the cookies, until Frog just feeds them to the birds, at which point Toad goes home… to bake a cake. "Dragons and Giants" deals with Frog and Toad trying to be brave for each other, getting into some dangerous situations, telling each other they are not afraid, until they give up, run home, and hide there for some time assuring each other that they are very brave. In "The Dream," Toad dreams he is on stage, doing amazing things while Frog compliments him. Only, each time he does, Frog shrinks until he disappears, and Toad is afraid he has made Frog disappear and he will be lonely. Frog wakes Toad up and Toad is very relieved to see his friend.
Impressions: I’ve loved these books since I was a child, and I may even love them more now. One thing I think that we’ve been missing as a society of late is new stories of strong male friendship – the only recent mainstream example I can think of is the Lord of Rings movies with Sam and Frodo, and ultimately that is just a movie version of a much older book. Even including indie releases I can only think of one other example, a fine middle grade series by a guy I know, Gama Ray Martinez, called the Pharim War that is sort of high fantasy Harry Potter but with angels and the school is in an active volcano. It is of course entirely possible that there are many others I haven’t just heard about (I’d prefer that possibility, personally) but either way, I think they are an important type of story that we need to be exposing young boys too. (It’s important for girls too, obviously, but it feels like there are more examples there, My Little Pony being only the first to come to mind.)
Frog and Toad, I think, will remain popular as long as the medium of books lasts at all. The charm, the friendship, the silly humorous bits, it is pure storytelling that gets to some of the most fundamental aspects of our social existence as human beings.
Professional Review: From Kirkus Reviews (2017)
Five more wise and wonderful stories to reaffirm the happy truth that Frog and Toad Are Friends. Again the lovely illustrations in soft green and brown depict the pair with affectionate humor as Frog and Toad test their will power on a bowl of cookies or their shaky bravery on a snake, or wait with anxious solicitation for Toad's seeds to grow. The first story, which begins with Toad waking up and making a list of "things to do today," sets a mood of anticipation that is never disappointed; the last adds unpretentious depth with Toad's dream of his own acclaimed theatrical performance while his larger friend, seated in the audience, becomes smaller and smaller and finally vanishes altogether. Toad's alarm at this point and his relief on waking up to find that Frog is still there and "his own right size" ends the beautifully handled episode on a note of enlarged affirmation.
Nothing here to add, really. Timeless books with universal themes of friendship, love, and even insecurity.
Library Uses: I think I would like to do a STEM program using the story "Cookies" as the basis – the goal is for the kids to do a Rube Goldberg machine to try and keep the ‘cookies’ from ‘Frog and Toad’ for as long as possible, with a prize of cookies for whoever does the best, and refreshments of cookies for everyone.
Readalikes: The obvious current example of a similar series is Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie books, which are very much cast in the mold of two friends who cherish and love each other… but still get into funny situations. I’d also recommend Amelia Bedelia easy readers because, while lacking the friendship component, has a similar silly style of humor that will appeal to children who like Frog and Toad. The third is another of my favorite series – Commander Toad in Space, which essentially is what would happen if you made fan fiction combining Frog and Toad with Star Trek the Original Series. It’s silly, it’s fun, and the friendship of Commander Toad and his crew is ultimately one of the most important parts of the series of books.
References
Kirkus Reviews. (2017). Frog and Toad Together. [Review of the book Frog and Toad Together]. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arnold-lobel/frog-and-toad-together/
Lobel, A. (1971). Frog and Toad Together. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
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