Customer Reviews

Frog and Toad Are Friends (An I Can Read Book)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've told my children that when yard sale time comes around, Frog and Toad books stay. I'm holding them for the grandchildren. The Frog and Toad books have held up well - my oldest 'child' is 32, my youngest not yet 9, and everyone has heard Frog and Toad stories over and over.

This book, published in 1970, is the first of four. The two friends are somewhat like the Odd Couple, two best friends with distinctly different personalities. Frog is usually cheerful, while Toad tends to view things from a darker side. In "Spring", Frog convinces Toad that Spring really is here, that it is worth it to get out of the bed where Toad's been lying for so long his calendar still says November.

In "The Story", Toad (who isn't quite as much a creative thinker as Frog) struggles to think up a story to cheer up his ailing friend - he struggles so hard that Frog ends up comforting him!

"A Lost Button" is an amusing story about a search for (you guessed it) a lost button - Toad's lost his button, and Frog spends his time looking for it - they find many buttons, but not the one Toad's looking for, which turns up back at Toad's house. He reward his friend by sewing him a special jacket filled with all the buttons.

In "A Swim", the self-conscious Toad tries to hide while putting on his swim suit, but ends up being seen by everyone, wearing his funny striped suit. Even Frog laughs at him - but he manages to walk home with dignity.

"The Letter" is the last story in this book. Like many little children, Toad loves getting letters but is really sad because nobody writes to him. Frog comes to the rescue, eventually, with the help of a turtle mail carrier.

The stories are short, sweet and about friendship, but in a simple manner. Drawings of Frog and Toad are on almost every page, and are detailed enough to warrant a lengthy view and some comments from young readers. The words are understandable and readable enough for very young readers, yet they manage to hold a story with an amusing message.

Because I am dedicated to reading aloud to my kids, I tend to review a book based upon whether or not it makes a good read-aloud book. All of the Frog and Toad books, and especially this one, are simply terrific for reading aloud.

My (four-year-old) daughter and I both love this book. The stories are funny and become funnier with each re-reading. For example, in the final story, Frog writes Toad a letter because Toad never receives mail and becomes sad every day at mailtime. Frog proceeds to give his letter to a snail for delivery. Frog cannot stand the suspense of waiting for the snail to deliver the letter, so he tells Toad about the letter and relates the contents. Together, they happily wait for the letter to arrive, which takes four days. Every time we read this story, my daughter laughs because Frog gave his letter to a snail, when everyone knows that snails are the slowest creatures alive.

The Frog and Toad books represent a perfect bridge from picture books to books where the words provide the story and the illustrations are infrequent and/or merely supplemental. The stories in these books are carried forward by the words, but the illustrations on each page would keep even the most dedicated picture-liking child happy.

If you're looking for a book to read aloud to your four to five year old, give Frog and Toad a try. You won't be sorry.

"Toad said, 'Frog you are looking quite green.' 'But I always look green,' said Frog. 'I am a frog.' 'Today you look very green even for a frog,' said Toad. 'Get into my bed and rest.' So begins one of five expertly crafted episodic chapters in this endearing Caldecott Honor beginning reader classic. Frog and Toad, true green friends, will leap into the hearts of any reader, beginning or advanced. Through rhyme and repetition of high frequency words, such as "said," Lobel crafts a text that is predictable, but not without surprises, and highly accessible to the beginning reader. Tasteful and simple, the illustrations do not overpower the text. Instead, they become more prominent where the text becomes unpredictable. For example, when Frog is sick and asks Toad to tell him a story, Toad goes through a series of unanticipated actions in an attempt to make a story pop into his head, including standing on his head, pouring water over his head, and banging his head against a wall. In this section of text, Lobel includes additional illustrations, providing visual clues to the potentially struggling decoder. Frog and Toad are Friends stands in a class of its own, as beginning reader books are rarely acknowledged for achieving excellence in writing. Frog and Toad are two unforgettable characters, and young readers may wonder whether they resemble either Frog or Toad more. They will also undoubtedly long to have Frog and Toad for friends.

My 6 year old loves this book! 5 wonderful storys! Every time we read it he wants me to send him a letter so he can get mail like frog and toad! I read these books when I was a very small child so its wonderful being able to read these books to my step-son! Great book!

Would you pour a glass of water on yourself and then proceed tostand on your head for the sake of making a friend feel better? Toaddoes exactly that in an attempt to think of a story for his sick friend, Frog. In this Caldecott Honor winning easy reader, Frog and Toad are Friends, Arnold Lobel lovingly illustrates the friendship between these two amphibians. Whether searching for lost buttons, swimming in a nearby river, or writing letters, Frog and Toad are always there for each other. The unpredictable and humorous actions of these charming characters grab reader attention, keeping them engrossed in the story. Toad says, "Frog, you are looking quite green," and Frog replies, "But I always look green, I am a frog." Lobel carefully chooses easy-to-read words and uses repetition throughout the five short episodes of the book. He combines sight words and short words that can be decoded fairly easily to construct sentences accessible to the beginner reader. The large typeface and ample space between both the lines and words of the text make the book approachable for young children. Pictures on each page depict Frog and Toad's actions clearly enough to provide struggling readers with clues to decode any unfamiliar words. Children grades one to three will enjoy reading this well crafted story that depicts a wonderful friendship between the two delightful characters.

I read this book in grade school when I was learning how to read. The stories are so sweet and timeless. This book is great to read with that young reader in the house.

I love the book Frog and Toad . Because i have friends just like them. I am one of them. C is the next one.S Is last. Ilov e the book very much .Ilove the setting of the story.Ilove every part of the story. that is how i feel abaut the story frog and toad are friends. they are very happy together in this book .That is why i love frog and toad books all of them frog and toad books. That is why i love them I wrot this to you frog and toad.

The "Frog and Toad" series are perfect books for beginning readers. My 6 yo son reads them to me, and laughs at all the funny illustrations. I remember my mother reading them to me when I was little. The nice thing about them is they are unlike the typical early reader fare in that they are funny and interesting enough to entertain the parent who is listening to them being read. Definitely a book worth owning.

Santa brought the book+cassette version of Frog and Toad to our 3 year old for Christmas and she has already listened to it about 20 times. (Although the package says it's for ages 6 to 9, frankly, I think it would be too babyish for kids that old.) Listening to the cassette is perfect for pre-readers and it will help develop aural skills too -- a quality sorely lacking in our visual culture.

The audio version is read by the author. He does a good job of making it lively to listen to. The use of music adds to the aural experience for kids.

I am now on the search for more of these book/cassette combos because they provide Mommy and Daddy with a few minutes of peace with a simple, but educational, activity that our VERY busy 3 year old can do on her own.

Two of our family's favorite characters of all time are Frog and Toad. Author Arnold Lobel certainly captures the foibles, eccentricities and idiosyncrasies of human character in his portrayal these two lovable amphibians. This book has four stories. One is entitled "Spring" in which Frog uses his wits to convince Toad it's time to wake up. The second is "The Story" in which Frog ends up telling Toad a story after Toad undoes himself trying to think of a story to tell his ailing friend. The third story is "The Lost Button" in which Toad, Frog, and friends search for Toad's lost button. The fourth story is" The Letter" in which Toad is bemoaning the fact that he never gets any mail.

This book and its companion books about Frog and Toad are on their third generation in our family. The accompanying audio tapes for these books with Arnold Lobel as the storyteller are priceless. Lobel's dry, monotonic delivery is exactly what is needed to depict the characters, the scene and the humor in these totally delightful tales.

Carolyn Rowe Hill