Frog and Toad
|
The cover of the first book circa 1970 | |
| Author | Arnold Lobel |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Frog and Toad |
Publication date | 1970–1979 |
Published in English | 1970–1979 |
| Pages | about 60 |
| Frog And Toad Together Frog And Toad Are Friends | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Kids |
| Directed by | John Matthews |
| Voices of |
Hal Smith Will Ryan |
| Narrated by | Arnold Lobel |
| Theme music composer | John Matthews |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Robert Churchill, George McQuilkin |
| Production company(s) | Churchill Films |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
none direct-to-video |
| Original run | May 23, 1985 – September 3, 1987 |
Frog and Toad are the main characters in a series of easy-reader children's books, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.
Each book contains five simple, often humorous, sometimes poignant, short stories chronicling the exploits of a frog and his friend, a toad. Some of their adventures include: attempting to fly a kite, cleaning Toad's messy house as opposed to waiting until "Tomorrow" to do so, and figuring out the ethics of being "Alone".
Frog is taller, with a green shade, and is more friendly and relaxed than Toad; Toad is shorter and stout, with a brown shade and also the more serious and uptight of the duo.
In 2008 three of Arnold Lobel's uncolored, unpublished Frog and Toad books were discovered in an estate sale.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; these books appear to be very different from the original set.
Books
The Frog and Toad books, in order of publication date, are:
- Frog and Toad are Friends (1970)
- Frog and Toad Together (1972)
- Frog and Toad All Year (1976)
- Days with Frog and Toad (1979)
Other Books
The following books only contain references to Frog and Toad and are not written, illustrated or delivered in the same manner as the original four editions.
- The Frogs and Toads All Sang (2009)
- Odd Owls and Stout Pigs (2009)
Barnes & Noble published a hardcover edition called Adventures of Frog and Toad (2008), which includes the complete text and illustrations from Frog and Toad are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, and Days with Frog and Toad.
Awards
Frog and Toad are Friends was the recipient of a Caldecott Honor award; it was also one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.[1] Frog and Toad Together won a Newbery Honor award.
On Broadway
The Frog and Toad books inspired a Broadway musical, A Year with Frog and Toad. 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 awards. 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 (1998) and First Stage Milwaukee (1999).
Film
In 2012, The Jim Henson Company has stated they plan an adaptation of the children's book as an animated film.
Notes
- Each of the first four Frog And Toad books seems to end with a story that shows how much Toad is dependent upon Frog's friendship.
References
- ↑ Bird, Elizabeth (July 6, 2012). "Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results". School Library Journal "A Fuse #8 Production" blog. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
External links
- Review of series in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
- Frog and Toad Are Friends at the Internet Movie Database
- Frog and Toad Together at the Internet Movie DatabaseChance Find Leads to New Lobel Picture Books
- Corbett, Sue Chance Find Leads to New Lobel Picture Books, Publishers Weekly, Children's Bookshelf, (May 28, 2009).
- Adrianne Lobel describes how her father’s handmade books were discovered and how she colored them. YouTube video from HarperCollins.