Frog and Toad Are Friends is a collection of 5 stories celebrating the best of friendship:
Spring: One April day, Frog races to Toad’s house to celebrate the beautiful weather, only to find Toad still hibernating. Rather than wait another month, Frog decides to trick Toad into thinking it’s time to get up by ripping the pages from Toad’s calendar until he gets to May—thus compelling Toad to get up and celebrate the spring weather with him.
The Story: Frog, not feeling well, requests a story from Toad. Unfortunately storytelling is not Toad’s forte. Nonetheless, he spends the whole day trying to come up with a story for Frog, who now feels better and happily eases Toad’s distress with a story of his own.
A Lost Button: While on a walk together, Toad discovers he’s lost a jacket button. The two friends retrace their steps, finding a collection of other lost buttons along the way, only for Toad to spot the button back at home. Toad sews up a surprise for Frog as a way to thank him for the trouble he put Frog through.
A Swim: Frog and Toad decide to go for a swim, but have differing opinions on the practicality of swimming trunks. Toad’s preference of wearing a bathing suit makes him self-conscious in the presence of other animals who, with Frog, gently tease him for worrying so.
The Letter: While on a visit to Toad, Frog discovers his friend is sad over never receiving any mail. In order to cheer Toad, Frog decides to write him a letter, which takes longer than anticipated to arrive.
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Recommended by Caitlin Bockman | Children's Room Associate
Start your storytime with one story or read them all in one sitting!
SONGS & RHYMES:
Jambo by Ella Jenkins | Multicultural Children's Songs
Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Hello, friends
Hello, friends
Hello, friends
It's time to say hello.
I am a little toad,
Hopping down the road,
Just listen to my song,
I sleep all winter long,
When spring comes I peep out,
And then I jump about,
And now I catch a fly,
And now I wink my eye,
And now and then I hop,
And now and then I stop.
ACTIVITY:
Search and Find Jar
Go on your own Frog and Toad “button hunt” at home with easy to find household items.
Supplies:
Glass jar (This is a good opportunity to empty out the fridge!)
Remember, this activity is all about using things you can find within your home. Get creative and use what you have. There is no right or wrong!
To assemble, dump your rice and small objects into the jar and close tightly. Now shake the jar well to mix up and hide your items. Shaking up the jar is part of the fun!
Finally, take turns turning and tilting the jar and sharing what you find on your “hunt”. Try challenging each other to find specific objects or see who can find the most items within a set amount of time.
Now get to “hunting” and see what you can find!
HAPPY READING (and FINDING)!
curated by Mazie Cook Lawson | Children's Room Associate
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Frog and Toad's friendship with this special activity kit from Harper Collins. Keep the learning (and fun) going with more curated activities for children from our team. Find them, here.