Toad Overload [Library Binding]

Patricia Seibert (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Explains what happened when giant toads were brought to Australia to help control beetles that ate the sugar cane crop. Includes information on the physical characteristics and habits of this species of toad.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4?Here is the strange, but true (and often amusing) story of how 101 dinner-plate sized toads grew into a national nuisance. Early in the 1900s, Australian sugarcane farmers imported giant toads (Bufo marinus) from Central and South America to eat the beetles that were destroying their crops. As the amphibians thrived and multiplied, it became apparent that they vastly preferred city life with its well-watered lawns and abundance of food to the hardship of pursuing beetles across the hot, dry cane fields. Boots left out on porches made comfortable sleeping places. Some people even treated the toads like pets. However, these appealing creatures are also poisonous. As they multiplied, people began to understand that too much of anything is not good. Whimsical toads peep around corners and parade across roads in this entertaining look at a very serious subject. Ellis's carefully positioned animals charm and engage readers without sacrificing scientific accuracy. A blinking eye, a leg drooping over a flowerpot, a mouth open to a bug, all serve to personify and endear them to readers. The text is equally engaging. Simply told and yet highly informative, it shows how we can never be sure what will happen when a plant or animal is introduced to a new habitat. Two pages of additional facts as well as maps showing toad distribution add the final flourish to a fascinating story, well told.?Lisa Wu Stowe, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. Seibert's "true tale" about nature takes readers to Australia. Beetles and their hungry grubs were destroying the sugarcane crops in Australia, so bringing 101 giant toads from South America to eat the beetles seemed like a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, the toads found the beetles too hard to catch and moved into town instead, gathering under street lights to munch on bugs. Because the nine-inch toads spurt poison when squeezed or bitten, they have few predators and have been able to settle in the area and multiply. Seibert tells the story in an entertainingly chatty style, with Ellis' colored pencil illustrations giving the toads a certain comical dignity, which holds firm even when one is dressed as a doll by a child. The final spread includes questions and answers about the toads and a map of their movement across Australia. Susan Dove Lempke

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Millbrook Press (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562946137
• ISBN-13: 978-1562946135
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Overabundance of Toads, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Toad Overload (Library Binding)

Science/Social Studies picture book focusing on the balance of nature in Australia. Gives factual information about the attempts to control the beetles which were destroying sugar cane crops. Giant toads, the size of dinner plates, were imported to eat the beetles. At first the toads stayed in the fields where they belonged, but soon they strayed to the towns and caused many problems. This book shows that you never know what might happen when you interfere with Mother Nature. The illustrations are wonderful, especially the one of the toad dressed up as a baby!