Frog and Toad Are Friends
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Arnold Lobel |
|---|---|
| Country | US |
Frog and Toad Are Friends is the first book in the Frog and Toad series published in 1970 by the American author of children's stories, Arnold Lobel.
Chapters
- Spring: Frog hurries over to Toad's house one fine Spring morning in April, but Toad isn't eager to get up. Frog eventually gets Toad up out of bed and no sooner does he explain about the whole new year they'll have together, than Toad decides to go back to bed. Since Toad has slept since November, he asks Frog to come back to wake him up when it's half past May. Not wanting to be lonely until that time, Frog takes advantage of the fact that Toad hasn't changed his calendar since November and tears off the month pages till he gets to April, but tears off the April page as well and manages to get Toad out of bed to admire the beauty of spring.
- The Story: One summer day, Toad notices that Frog isn't feeling well and helps him to bed. Frog requests a story, but Toad has difficulty trying to come up with a story to tell his friend. Walking up and down the porch, standing on his head, pouring water over his head, and banging his head against the wall doesn't get Toad anywhere. However, Frog feels better and allows Toad to get in bed so he can tell him a story. Frog tells a story that details what Toad has been doing for him throughout the chapter, but by the time Frog finishes, Toad is already fast asleep.
- A Lost Button: After Frog and Toad return from a long walk, Toad notices a button has fallen off his jacket. Retracing their steps, the friends return to the meadow, the woods, and the stream where they had walked. Frog, a sparrow, and a raccoon all find buttons, but none of them are Toad's missing button (his was a big round thick white button with four holes). Eventually, Toad gets so mad over not finding his button that he runs home...and discovers his missing button had fallen off before the walk. To make it up to Frog for the wild goose chase, Toad not only sews his button back on his jacket, but sews on the other buttons they'd found as well and gives it to Frog the next day.
- A Swim: Frog and Toad go down to the stream to go swimming. While Frog prefers to swim naked, Toad prefers to swim wearing a bathing suit, but tells Frog not to look at him when he's out of the water because the bathing suit makes him look funny. During the swim, a turtle comes by, prompting Toad to ask Frog to tell the turtle to leave. However, even though Frog justifies to the turtle why he wants him to leave, the turtle, plus some lizards, a grass snake, a pair of dragonflies, and a field mouse all want to see Toad's bathing suit. Toad decides to stay in the water till everybody leaves, but has to come out when he begins to sneeze. As soon as he gets out, everybody (including Frog) laughs at him proving that what he said about the bathing suit was true.
- The Letter: While stopping by Toad's house for a friendly visit, Frog notices Toad looking sad. Toad explains that it's the time when he has to wait for the mail because he never gets any mail. Feeling sad for his friend, Frog goes home, writes a letter addressed to Toad, and asks a snail to deliver the letter to Toad's house. Returning to Toad's house, Frog tries to convince Toad to try again at waiting for the mail, but ends up waiting for it himself. When Toad asks why, Frog explains about the letter and describes what he wrote in it, which cheers up Toad enough to wait for the letter. It takes four days for the snail to reach Toad's house, but he arrives with Toad's letter, Toad is very happy to know the wait was worth it.
Series
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)