Who doesn’t know of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends? Strangely, despite being a 1971 Caldecott Honor book, I never encountered any of the Frog and Toad books in my childhood. Instead, I found them at my local public library when my oldest was a tiny little one.
At first, I thought the cover looked a little bit like Sesame Street muppets, and I wasn’t terribly inclined to look inside. My son had pulled the book off the shelf and insisted on me reading it to him, so I gave it a chance. Immediately, I was giggling and delighting in the story.
“Toad! Toad!” cried Frog.” The sun is shining! The snow is melting! Wake up!” ”I am not here,” said the voice.
“I am not here.” Both mother and son giggled at that.
“Listen, Frog,” said Toad.” How long have I been asleep?” ”You have been asleep since November,” said Frog.” Well then,” said Toad,” a little more sleep will not hurt me.” Come back again and wake me up at about half past May, Good night, Frog.” ”But, Toad,” said Frog” I will be lonely until then.”
Oh, how clever and sweet! By page 12, we have been giggling, and now we are also starting to care about Frog.
Frog decides that he doesn’t want to be lonely but that he does want to do what his friend asks. So, in a way that is so perfectly sensible to children, he goes to the calendar and tears off all of the pages from November until May. There, now it is May, and Toad must get up.
For the next 50+ illustrated small pages, Frog and Toad have many adventures together. Each one is perfectly childlike (even if silly to adults) and also sweet. The language is simple enough for a developing reader to catch on while mom reads aloud, but so well constructed that it is a delight to read.
“…because I have sent you a letter.” ”You have?” said Toad“ ”What did you write in the letter?” Frog said, “I wrote Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my best friend. Your best friend, Frog.” “Oh,” said Toad,“that makes a very good letter.” Then Frog and Toad went out onto the porch to wait for the mail. They sat there, feeling happy together.
Such a simple, lovely friendship is celebrated. It is no wonder that so many people today have such a fondness for these two friends. Lovely characters in a lovely setting with great respect for young readers are shown. May Frog and Toad never go out of style on the early readers shelves in libraries everywhere.
This book was a 1971 Caldecott Honor book. To find out more about the Caldecott books, check out Biblioguides.