Product Description

Friends all year.
In winter, spring, summer, and fall, Frog and Toad are always together. Here is a wise and wonderful story for each seasonof the year-and one for Christmas, too.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8244 in Books
• Published on: 1984-09-05
• Released on: 1984-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

Amazon.com Review
For fans of these famous amphibians, the continuation of Frog and Toad's saga gives a glimpse of what those rascals are up to all year long. They frolic together over four seasons, with a story for each celebration, plus one for Christmas. Glide down the snow-covered hill with Toad, hunt for spring with Frog, and discover just who is hiding under all that melted chocolate ice cream. Beginning readers will love the thrill of reading a chapter book by themselves; the simple language and unique adventures encourage and entertain those just entering the world of words. The endearing duo is depicted in the warmest of browns and softest of greens, reflecting the tender gentleness of their friendship. Children's bookshelves should be filled with all the classics in Arnold Lobel's series, including Frog and Toad Together, Days with Frog and Toad, and Frog and Toad Are Friends. This timeless original well deserves its recognition as an ALA Notable Children's Book. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Review
Lobel's peerless, though much imitated, animal comrades do a little borrowing of their own here when Frog goes around the corner to look for spring, recalling Clifton's Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring (1973); in this case we can't consider Lobel's more conventional rustic setting an improvement, but Frog does make the search his own. In fall Frog and Toad rake each other's leaves for a surprise, but the wind undoes the jobs before either is aware of the other's favor; elsewhere the friendship seems to have settled down to a kind of mellow harmony. In the winter Toad, riding in front, does a fine job of steering a sled until he realizes that the more experienced Frog has fallen off; in summer he becomes covered with such a mess of sticks and leaves, stuck to the two ice cream cones that have melted all over him, that he scares off everyone but Frog, who recognizes him under the gunk; and at Christmas he worries when his friend is late to dinner, until Frog shows up with a gift. We miss some of the resonant psychological heft of this pair's previous experiences, but Frog and Toad can still transform the most ordinary seasonal activities into celebrations. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

During his distinguished career Arnold Lobel wrote and/or illustrated over 70 books for children. To his illustrating credit, he had a Caldecott Medal book -- Fables (1981) -- and two Caldecott Honor Books-his own Frog and Toad are Friends (1971) and Hildilid's Night by Cheli Duran Ryan (1972). To his writing credit, he had a Newbery Honor Book -- Frog and Toad Together (1973). But to his greatest credit, he had a following of literally millions of young children with whom he shared the warmth and humor of his unpretentious vision of life.

Though he was a born storyteller -- he began making up stories extemporaneously to entertain his fellow second-graders in Schenectady, New York, where he grew up in the care of his grandparents. Mr. Lobel called himself a "lucky amateur" in terms of his writing. Viewing himself as a professionally trained illustrator (he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute), he said, "I know how to draw pictures. With writing, I don't really know what I'm doing. It's very intuitive."

In addition to the Frog and Toad books, Owl at Home, Mouse Tales, The Book of Pigericks, and many other popular books he created, Mr. Lobel also illustrated other writers' texts that captured his fancy. He viewed this as "something different and challenging." Often his illustrations for those books showed a different aspect of his personality and his artistic expertise, ranging from his meticulous dinosaurs in Dinosaur Time by Peggy Parish to his chilling pen-and-ink drawings in Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep by Jack Prelutsky, about which Booklist wrote, "Young readers will be amazed that the gentle Lobel of Frog and Toad fame can be so comfortably diabolic."

In 1977 Mr. Lobel and his wife, Anita, a distinguished children's book author and artist in her own right, collaborated on their first book, How the Rooster Saved the Day, chosen by School Library Journal as one of the Best Books of the Year, 1977. They then collaborated on three more books, A Treeful of Pigs, a 1979 ALA Notable Book; On Market Street, a 1982 Caldecott Honor Book; and The Rose in My Garden, a 1984 Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book.

Arnold Lobel died in 1987.

Customer Reviews

By now, you're hooked...
If you've read the first two books in the Frog and Toad series, by now you and your child are hooked!

This book, published in 1976, is the third of four books about Frog and Toad, written by Arnold Lobel. This book has five stories, starting and ending with Winter tales.

As usual, Toad is a bit negative and nervous, while Frog is calm, positive and dedicated to being a very good friend to Toad.

In "Down the Hill", Frog gets Toad to come outside and try sledding down a hill with him. Toad goes reluctantly along, and for a moment enjoys the ride. Frog gets bumped off the sled, and Toad still enjoys the adventure until he realizes he's alone. He decides Winter is best spent inside.

The next story is about a story told from Frog to Toad, one rainy day when they are wishing Spring was here. Frog promises that Spring is just around "The Corner."

"Ice Cream" is a funny story about what happens when Toad buys ice cream cones for himself and Frog, and carries them a long way on a very hot day.

"The Surprise" is a story about what happens when two friends try to do something special for a friend, in secret.

The last story, "Christmas Eve", has a worried Toad frantically searching for his best friend, sure that something terrible has happened. It has a happy ending, of course!

The stories are short, sweet and about friendship, but in a simple manner. Drawings of Frog and Toad are on almost every page, and are detailed enough to warrant a lengthy view and some comments from young readers. The words are understandable and readable enough for very young readers, yet they manage to tell a story with an amusing message.

Review by Giovanni P.S. 39
If you are scared of being alone, well, you might pick Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel. Find out if Toad will ever learn how to be alone.

In the beginning, Toad was so nervous to be alone in the sled. So Frog was behind him. There was a big bump and Frog fell out. Toad was still on the sled. And he went by himself all the way to the bottom. Toad learned that being alone is not that bad, and you don't have to be scared.

If you like this book you might pick others in the series. There is Frog and Toad are Friends and Days with Frog and Toad.

Get the Broadway Musical CD
Frog and Toad are classic, and WONDERFUL. If you love Frog and Toad, you need to know Arnold Lobel's daughter collaborated to create a Broadway musical based on these books, and the CD with the songs from the musical ("A Year With Frog and Toad") is a MUST have for every child. We have given so many copies as gifts I've lost count, and everyone (adult and child alike) LOVES the CD. It has all the charm and humor of the books, and it brings the characters to life in a lovely and loveable way. Get the CD along with the Frog and Toad books -- the PERFECT gift package for any child age 1 to 8.