|
CTC Family Guide 
Family Guide: A Year With Frog and Toad
A detailed description of the play, including things to do and think about, for parents to share with their families.
Return to A Year With Frog and Toad
Summary 
They’re back! You take a couple of dapper amphibians, add a chorus of Andrews Sisters-type birds, a wild-west Pony-Express snail and you’ve got something jazzy and snappy and downright witty. This production is the one you loved last year - with the beautiful sets inspired by Loebel’s original illustrations and the musical score that many of us are still humming, or singing out loud. And, of course, this is the one that went to Broadway where it was nominated for THREE Tony® Awards!
A Synopsis of the Story
To put it most succinctly, Frog and Toad are friends. They're the kind of friends that think of each other first thing when waking up in the morning - or from a long winter nap. Frog wakes up first, actually, and though Toad is none too anxious to leave his warm bed, it's not long before he's rousted out and exploring the glory - it is spring.
Frog is up and about planting a garden - Toad wants one too. Frog gives him seeds and instructions - Toad plants them too. BUT, Toad grows impatient and yells at his slow-poke seeds. Frog defends the seeds. They need time, he says. They need patience, he says. And he wouldn't blame them for not growing for someone who's yelling at them anyway, he says. Toad apologizes to his seeds and promises to protect them always - even from birds - which he does. He sings to his seeds, dances for them and plays his tuba through the twilight, until...at last...he falls...asleep. In the morning the seeds are smiling tender green pointed smiles; they have sprouted, and Toad is a happy toad. Except his mailbox is empty. His mailbox always is. Frog knows how to cheer up his friend. He writes him a letter and gives it to Snail to deliver A.S.A.P. as the year rolls on.
In summer Frog and Toad go for a swim. The thing is, Toad looks funny in a bathing suit, and although Frog respectfully averts his eyes as Toad climbs into the water, the other animals are not so polite. They tease Toad unmercifully. Finally, thank goodness, the razzing resolves into a jolly day, all at the expense of Toad and his very silly suit.
Later, Toad decides to invite Frog on a picnic, but Frog isn't at home. Toad sets out to find him. Why on earth would Frog leave a note on his door saying he has gone away to be alone? Was it something Toad said? Was it everything Toad said? Was it Toad? By the time Toad finds Frog - on an island in the lake - he's so worried he drops their picnic in the water. The thing is, Frog is fine. He just likes to be alone sometimes to think about how happy he is. One of the things that makes him most happy is that he has Toad for a friend.
In the fall Frog and Toad bake cookies, fly kites, rake leaves and tell stories. One stormy night Frog decides it’s the perfect night for a ghost story, and he tells Toad a tale that begins, “When I was a very small frog I went for a picnic with my parents...” Frog’s family gets lost in the woods and his parents go in search of the pathway home, leaving him alone and very frightened of the large and terrible frog (he is terribly large and largely terrible) that lives in the wood who eats little bunnies dipped in dirt and likes frog children for dessert! Young Frog tries to be brave when the giant frog appears and wants to eat him! Young Frog tricks and ties the frog, and runs to find his parents. Then they all go home for a “hot and steamy, absolutely dreamy, finally out of trouble, bubble bath.”
(Occasionally throughout the year Frog asks whether or not Toad has gotten any mail. He hasn’t. We begin to wonder what A.S.A.P. means to a snail.) In winter Frog and Toad go sledding. Although it’s Frog’s idea, soon Toad is swept away in the quest for bigger hills and scarier rides. It is a rollicking good time until suddenly Frog topples off the sled and Toad is left to navigate alone. Toad smashes into a snow bank and comes out furious with Frog. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, but just then - Snail arrives. At last the mail has come! Toad reads the letter his friend sent so long ago and is warmed to the tips of his (presumably) webbed toes. As we've said, Frog and Toad are friends.
On Christmas Eve Toad waits for Frog to come to his house. Frog is late. Toad fears that something terrible must have happened. Frog must have been set upon by wolves, why of course! Just as Toad is about to venture forth to rescue his friends from the jaws of the imagined beasts, Frog arrives. He was late because he was wrapping a present, the one he has for Toad. The year has rolled all the way round now. It's time to hibernate, and Frog and Toad settle down to their winter nap once more. Their good night is a promise to meet in the spring as they fall asleep dreaming of each other. Frog and Toad are friends.
| AS you get READY to SEE the SHOW |
|
Arnold Lobel, who wrote the original books Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year, Days With Frog and Toad, (and many other wonderful books on other subjects) had a daughter whose name is Adrienne. She likes to tell the story that when she was a little girl, her father came up from the garden one day saying, “Look, Adrienne, I have a frog.” When she saw what he held in his hand she replied, “Daddy, that’s a toad.” this incident prompted the stories.
 Do you know the difference between a frog and a toad?
It might be fun to find out. Perhaps you could go to the library.
ALSO: When Adrienne was a child her father took her to Broadway musicals. She says, "Musicals, my father, and his work have always been mushed together in my mind." He especially liked songs from the 30's and 40's, jazzy, witty tunes, so it makes sense that our Frog and Toad are musical.
Do you sing with any of your friends? Name one of your friend's favorite songs, and name one of your own. Now, what is a song you sing together?
|
|
| SOMETHING to TALK ABOUT |
|
People can be very different and still be friends - like Frog and Toad. Is there a way of being different that would make it impossible for you to be someone’s friend? What is it? Now, think of a FUN way you and a friend are (or could be) different.
|
|
| RELATED READING |
|
How To Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them by Laurene Krasny Brown. Dinosaur characters illustrate the value of friends, how to make friends and how to be and not to be a good friend. (gr. K-3)
Mangaboom by Charlotte Pomerantz. Daniel goes to tea at Tia Pepita’s with his friend Mangaboom, a giant who lives in a mango tree. (gr. K-3)
The Rat and the Tiger by Keiko Kasza. In his friendship with Rat, Tiger takes advantage and plays the bully because of his greater size, but one day Rat stands up for his rights. (gr. K-3)
Seasons by Melvin Berger. Using simple text and illustrations, Berger describes spring, summer, fall and winter and the changes associated with each time of year. (gr. 2-5)
Yellow Bird and Me by Joyce Hansen. When Doris discovers her new friend Yellow Bird is dyslexic, Yellow Bird’s learning difference is addressed and his self-esteem and school performance improve. (gr. 5-8)
|
|
Return to A Year With Frog and Toad
|
