''Frog and Toad'' is a series of easy-reader
children's books
A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...
, written and illustrated by
Arnold Lobel
Arnold Stark Lobel (May 22, 1933 – December 4, 1987) was an American author of children's books, including the '' Frog and Toad'' series and '' Mouse Soup''. He wrote and illustrated these picture books as well as ''Fables'', a 1981 Caldecott M ...
.
Each book contains five simple, often humorous, sometimes poignant, short stories chronicling the exploits of an anthropomorphic
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
and
toad
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...
, named Frog and Toad respectively. The situations in which they find themselves are a cross between the human and animal worlds.
Some of their adventures include attempting to fly a
kite
A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
, cleaning Toad's dirty house, and finding out different reasons for isolation.
Frog is taller with a green shade, and is more cheery and relaxed than Toad; Toad is shorter and stout with a brown shade, and while just as caring and friendly as Frog, is also the more serious and uptight of the duo.
Origins
When Lobel was sick and out of school for much of second grade, he kept himself busy by drawing. He used his animal drawings as a way of coping with the social insecurity of his return and to make friends. His books about animal friends, such as Frog and Toad, were drawn from these experiences. Lobel himself wrote, "Frog and Toad are really two aspects of myself."
In ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', his daughter
Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel is an American scenic designer and producer for theatre, opera, and dance known for her "very daring and creative sets."Greenspon, Jaq. "Acting" (1996). McGraw-Hill Professional. , p. 82.
Life and career
Lobel was born and raised i ...
suggested "that there’s another dimension to the series’s sustained popularity. Frog and Toad are 'of the same sex, and they love each other'," and that the series "really was the beginning of him
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
".
Books
*''
Frog and Toad Are Friends
''Frog and Toad Are Friends'' is an American children's picture book, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel and published by Harper & Row in 1970. It inaugurated the Frog and Toad series, whose four books each comprises five easy-to-read short ...
'' (1970),
[
*'']Frog and Toad Together
''Frog and Toad Together'' is an American fantasy adventure children's picture book, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel and published by Harper & Row in 1972. It is the second book in the ''Frog and Toad'' series. Like each of the other boo ...
'' (1972), [
*'' Frog and Toad All Year'' (1976), ][
*''Days with Frog and Toad'' (1979), ][
]
Omnibus edition
An omnibus edition or omnibus is a creative work containing one or more works by the same or, more rarely, different authors. Commonly two or more components have been previously published as books but a collection of shorter works, or shorter wor ...
s
*''The Frog and Toad Treasury'' (1996),
includes ''Frog and Toad are Friends'', ''Frog and Toad Together'', and ''Frog and Toad All Year''
*''Adventures of Frog and Toad'' (2005),
includes ''Frog and Toad are Friends'', ''Frog and Toad Together'', and ''Days with Frog and Toad''
* ''Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury'' (2013),
includes all four original books
Later releases
In 2008, three of Arnold Lobel's uncolored, unpublished ''Frog and Toad'' books were discovered in an estate sale. They were consolidated into two books and colored by Lobel's daughter Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel is an American scenic designer and producer for theatre, opera, and dance known for her "very daring and creative sets."Greenspon, Jaq. "Acting" (1996). McGraw-Hill Professional. , p. 82.
Life and career
Lobel was born and raised i ...
. They are written, illustrated, and delivered in a manner different from the original four books.
*''The Frogs and Toads All Sang'' (2009), color by Adrianne Lobel,
*''Odd Owls and Stout Pigs: A Book of Nonsense'' (2009), color by Adrianne Lobel,
Reception
''Frog and Toad'' is valued by experts in children's literature for its portrayal of the value of friendship.
''Frog and Toad are Friends'' was a Caldecott Honor Book
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...
, or runner-up for the annual American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
(ALA) Caldecott Medal, which recognizes children's picture book illustration.[ In 2012, it was ranked number 15 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by '']School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
''.
''Frog and Toad Together'' was a Newbery Honor Book
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
, which recognizes children's literature.[
''Frog and Toad All Year'' won a ]Christopher Award
The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...
in 1977 – one of five, at a time when books for young people was the only award category. The awards recognize "media that 'affirm the highest values of the human spirit' ... Award winners encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature and motivate artists and the general public to use their best instincts on behalf of others."
Adaptations
In the 1980s, ''Churchill Films
Churchill Films aka Churchill Media was a producer and distributor of direct-to-video/educational films founded by Robert Churchill (1902-) and Sy Wexler (1916–2005) in 1948 as Churchill Wexler Film Productions. They have produced ''The Mouse and ...
'' produced 18-minute and 30-minute adaptations of the first two books using clay animation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
. Both films were directed by John Clark Matthews, credited also as theme music composer and one principal animator. Frog and Toad were voiced by Will Ryan
William Frank Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film ''The Land Before Time''.
He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner ...
and Hal Smith respectively.["Frog and Toad Are Friends (1985)"]
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
(IMDb.com). Retrieved 2015-09-19.["Frog and Toad Together (1987)"]
IMDb. Retrieved 2015-09-19. They were narrated by Lobel. ''Frog and Toad Are Friends'' was released on May 23, 1985; ''Frog and Toad Together'' on September 3, 1987. They were distributed to the home market only (direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
).
The ''Frog and Toad'' books inspired a Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
, ''A Year with Frog and Toad
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
''. The musical was commissioned by Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel, played off-Broadway, and ran briefly on Broadway in 2003. It was nominated for three Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
s. Prior to this, the books had inspired a non-musical play, "Frog and Toad (Forever)" written by Y York, and performed at Seattle Children's Theatre in 1998 and First Stage Milwaukee in 1999.
References
{{reflist, 30em , refs=
["Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present"]
Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
(ALSC). American Library Association (ALA.org). Retrieved 2015-09-18.
["Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present"]
ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
[Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel"]
(starred review). ''Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
''. August 1, 1970. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
["Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel"]
''Kirkus Reviews''. April 1, 1972. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
["Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel by Arnold Lobel"]
''Kirkus Reviews''. April 1, 1976. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
["Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel by Arnold Lobel"]
''Kirkus Reviews''. October 1, 1979. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
External links
in ''The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
''The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'' is an academic journal established in 1945 by Frances E. Henne (Graduate Library School, University of Chicago).Wedgeworth, Robert. ''World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services''. Chi ...
''
"Chance Find Leads to New Lobel Picture Books"
Sue Corbett, ''Publishers Weekly'', May 28, 2009
YouTube video from HarperCollins
– Adrianne Lobel describes how her father's handmade books were discovered and how she colored them
1985 films
1985 animated films
1980s stop-motion animated films
Clay animation films
Children's fiction books
Series of children's books
Literary duos
Animated duos
Books about frogs
Children's books about friendship
Films about frogs
Animated films about reptiles and amphibians
Animated films about friendship
Picture books by Arnold Lobel
Literary characters introduced in 1970
Film characters introduced in 1985