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Lobel also guides us through the narrative with subtly dark and very playful humor. I wanted to think about how fine everything is.” And I felt good because I have you for a friend. This morning when I woke up I felt good because the sun was shining. The sweet twist of the story is that Frog wanted to be alone to think about how wonderful everything is in his life. He finds Frog sitting alone on a rocky island. Worried that Frog hates him (relatable), Toad goes out of his way to make Frog a picnic basket. He pulled the covers over his head and fell asleep.”Īnother favorite of mine is “Alone.” Toad finds that Frog has gone off to be alone. “”Tomorrow,’ said Toad, ‘I can just take life easy.’ I quite loved the ending, in which Toad finally learns to cut himself a break! It’s such a heartfelt parable about taking your days one step at a time. Toad is reluctant to leave bed thinking about all of the things that he has to do. The book starts with “Tomorrow,” a story that may ring familiar if you’ve ever found yourself emotionally struggling to get through each day. I’d characterize Toad as the more curmudgeonly and neurotic of the two, and Frog as the more grounded and mischievous one. But mostly, it’s quite touching, radical, even.ĭays of Frog and Toad is a collection of very short stories (with clear-cut plots, mind you) revolving around the adventures of two dapperly dressed best friends conveniently named Frog and Toad. The book can occasionally have quite a dark underlying current. Reading the collection as an adult, I picked up themes of anxiety, depression, and self-consciousness. But you can feel how love is parsed out in the book through its beautifully clean and straightforward sentences. It was quite ahead of its time in that respect.” Lobel never directly spoke of the connection between the Frog and Toad books and his sexuality. In an interview with The New Yorker, his daughter Adrianne said that Frog and Toad are “of the same sex, and they love each other. Arnold Lobel, the author and illustrator, was himself a queer man. The book is notorious for its subtext of Frog and Toad being a same-sex couple. My kid lit read today is a deep cut - the deceivingly simple Days With Frog and Toad. Days With Frog and Toad is an understated and humorous collection of stories about love that’s perfect for all ages.