Common Sense Media Review
Expressive, loveable characters are fun to watch.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Have you ever eaten too many cookies? Run away from a scary snake? Dreamed that you were bigger than your friends? Frog and Toad have. Sometimes the world seems strange and dangerous to them, but as long as they have their friendship--there's nothing they can't do.
Is It Any Good?
The five stories are simple but interesting, practical yet humorous, and never stray from the central theme: The two friends can figure out almost any problem they face. Frog and Toad learn such things as patience, courage, and willpower. Arnold Lobel makes a short vocabulary list go a long way, teaching his readers positive attributes while keeping their interest with engaging story lines. The brown-and-green-hued watercolor sketches are a strong accompaniment to the stories. The sketches of Toad's activities while he not-so-patiently waits for his seeds to grow capture the mood of the young toad precisely.
"The List" shows the benefits of organization, but tempers that with the need for flexibility, while "The Cookies" shows that you can have too much of a good thing -- even willpower.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how friends help each other. Kids: What adventures have you had that turned out better because you were with a friend? What problems have you been able to solve with a friend's help?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Arnold Lobel
- Genre : For Beginning Readers
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperTrophy
- Publication date : January 1, 1971
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 7
- Number of pages : 64
- Last updated : July 12, 2017
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate