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.[1] It is the second book in the Frog and Toad series, whose four books completed by Lobel comprise five easy-to-read short stories each. It was a Newbery Honor Book, or runner-up for the American Library Association Newbery Medal, which recognizes the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".[3]

Frog and Toad Together
First edition
AuthorArnold Lobel
IllustratorLobel
CountryUnited States
SeriesFrog and Toad
SubjectFriendship[1]
GenreChildren's picture book, short story collection
PublisherHarper & Row (I Can Read)
Publication date
April 1972[2]
Pages64 pp.
ISBN9780060239602
OCLC436317436
LC ClassPZ10.3.L787 Fr[1]
Preceded byFrog and Toad Are Friends 
Followed byFrog and Toad All Year 

Frog and Toad Together was adapted as a film.

Summary

Best friends Frog and Toad are always together. The five stories feature flowers, cookies, bravery, dreams, and, most importantly, friendship.

A List

Toad wakes up one morning and decides to write a list of things to do for the day. After writing the list and doing the first four items on it (wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and go to Frog's house), he goes over to Frog's house and invites him to take a walk with him. During the walk, while Toad is crossing off "Take walk with Frog", a sudden gust of wind blows the list away. Frog tries to catch the list, but to no avail. As Toad cannot remember what else was on the list, he and Frog just sit and do nothing until night falls and Toad suddenly remembers that going to sleep was the last thing on his list, which is what the two friends do.

The Garden

Toad is impressed with the garden Frog has grown and wishes he had one too. Frog advises that it was hard work, and gives him a bag of flower seeds. Once Toad plants the seeds, he shouts at them to start growing, prompting Frog to come up and tell him the seeds are afraid to grow at the moment. Even when Frog tells Toad to leave the seeds alone and let the sun and rain do their work to help the seeds grow, Toad tries every other way (reading a story, singing songs, reading poetry, and playing music), all of which fail. Exhausted, Toad falls asleep one night, and the next morning, Frog wakes Toad up to show him his seeds are starting to grow. Toad is glad and relieved he will soon have a garden as good as Frog's, but agrees that it was hard work.

Cookies

Toad bakes some cookies and goes over to Frog's house to share the cookies with him. Toad has made the cookies so delicious that he and Frog at first cannot stop eating them, even when they promise themselves to stop. Frog eventually announces they need willpower to stop themselves from eating all the cookies. Even though Frog puts the cookies in a box, ties up the box with string, and puts it on a high shelf, Toad points out what they can still do to eat the rest of the cookies. Frog eventually opens the box, but this time takes it outside and allows birds to eat the remaining cookies. Even though Frog and Toad now have plenty of willpower, Toad decides to bake a cake next.

Dragons and Giants

While reading a book about knights in shining armor, Frog and Toad are impressed with how brave the heroes in the book are and wonder if they are brave themselves. Despite the mirror showing that they look brave, the friends decide to test their bravery by climbing a nearby mountain. After escaping a hungry snake and narrowly avoiding an avalanche, Frog and Toad reach the top of the mountain, but leave in a hurry after a near-escape from a hawk, each time declaring (with decreasing sincerity) that they are not afraid. Once they arrive back at Toad's house and hide in the closet and the bed, Frog and Toad admit that they are brave enough to have each other as good friends.

The Dream

One day, while Toad is asleep in bed, he has a dream in which he is on stage and wearing a costume. A voice from an unseen character presents Toad as the Greatest Toad in All the World with Frog as Toad's only audience. Toad does every act great (playing the piano, walking on a high wire, and dancing) and while he does these things and asks Frog if he can do them, Frog shrinks in size and admits he could not do them. Eventually, the dream becomes a nightmare when Toad's dancing act has made Frog shrink rapidly to never even be seen or heard. Worried for his friend, Toad prevents the voice from announcing his next act and tries calling out for Frog, only for the dream to end with him spinning in the dark. Toad wakes up from his dream to see Frog in his house, and when they both play together outside, is very relieved that what he experienced was only a bad dream.

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References
  1. "Frog and toad together" (first edition). Library of Congress Online Catalog (catalog.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  2. "Frog and Toad Together". Kirkus Reviews. April 1, 1972. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  3. "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
      "Welcome to the Newbery Medal Home Page!". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
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