Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

 Frog and Toad Are Friends

(HarperCollins-1979)

Written and Illustrated by: Arnold Lobel

Grade: 2

*Caldecott Honor Book 1971*

Frog and Toad Are Friends is a collection of four short stories: Spring, The Story, A Lost Button, A Swim and The Letter. All of these stories portray frog and toad as best friends. They show that Frog and Toad are always there for each other in good times and bad and they help each other out when they need it. It is a great story about friendship and has very simple vocabulary for younger kids to read. I love all the exclamation so the kids can learn to read with expression. Since there are a few books about frog and toad, this book can spark their interest to read more books!

Theme/Skills Taught: Friendship & Diversity/Comparing Characters

About the Author/Illustrator: Arnold Lobel grew up in Schenectady, New York, where he lived with his grandparents. When he graduated from art school, he married Anita Kempler, and they moved to New York. He and his wife had two children, Adam and Adrianne.When he first started drawing pictures for children's books, Arnold Lobel got many of his ideas from the cartoons his children liked to watch. He has actually written a few books about frog and toad including Days with Frog and Toad, Frog and Toad All Year, and Frog and Toad Together. All of them are great books and kids love to read them! Arnold Lobel's Bio

Pre-Reading Activities: Give students a background on Arnold Lobel. He began getting his ideas for illustrations based on cartoons. This may give students some ambition to want to draw OR have them think of something they love to do. It can become a career if you pursue it and are determined enough.

Post Reading Activities: The students will create and complete a Venn Diagram chart that compares and contrasts Frog and Toad based on the five stories they read.