Toad and I by Lousie Yates

A library colleague and I were recently bemoaning the way young children seem to have less word knowledge "these days". This Teacher-Librarian is exploring older classic picture books with Grade two  as a way to show the children newest titles, while good, are not the only books in the library and then to show them books that have certainly stood the test of time.  This week she showed them the classic story Frog and Toad (I am thinking you may have guessed this) and nearly every child had no idea what a toad was. These children are seven or even eight years old. We both felt this was amazing and perhaps even sad.

By coincidence I picked up this book - Toad and I - from the same library.  To enjoy this book you perhaps need to know what a toad is or perhaps the pictures help you although I will say the green guy in this book does look more like a frog.  You could compare him with the frog illustration by Max Velthuijs.

Anyway putting aside the issue of toads or frogs for a moment when you read this book you need to know your fairy tales.  Look at these lines:

"One day, Kitty was playing with her new bouncy ball when she bounced it a bit too hard and it flew over the fence and disappeared."  I immediately thought of the Frog Princess and her ball which fell into a well.

"Hello,' said a voice
'Hello,' said Kitty.
'Who's there?'
It was a toad.
Kitty kissed him to see if he would turn into a prince. ...
But he didn't."

Toad lives in an amazing tree house. While he is showing Kitty around Squirrel rushes in. Owl has been hit by a meteorite. Toad puts on some medical clothes, a nurses' uniform, and Kitty puts on a white lab coat and stethoscope. They rush to the observatory to check out the meteorites when a Shrew rushes in with news of a monster. The mayhem continues with an injured hedgehog and the threat of snakes and cats. Have you guessed the culprit?

"It was the ball that had bounced over the fence ... "

When everything is set to rights Toad says goodbye to Kitty and "then he kissed her. I wasn't trying to turn you into a princess' he said. 'Just saying goodbye."

Now turn the page for another clever twist.

This book is funny and slightly crazy and would be a terrific read aloud book for a pre-school child. You could use it to talk about cause and effect.  Take a look here to see other books by Louise Yates.

Just so you don't confuse toads with frogs here are two photos:

Image source: Kids Growing Strong