Frog and Toad: A Celebration of Love with Frog and Toad shirt

Explore the vibrant world of Frog and Toad in this heartwarming celebration of same-sex love, featuring charming Frog and Toad shirt.

1. Arnold Lobel, the message in Frog and Toad

From Schenectady, New York, 1933-born Lobel penned and illustrated the Frog and Toad series. After working for advertising firms, he began illustrating for Harper & Row in 1961 and produced “A Zoo for Mr. Muster,” about a guy who becomes a zookeeper to spend every day with his animal pals, the following year. He wrote and illustrated scores of children’s books, sometimes with his wife, Anita Kempler, whom he met while studying art and theater at Pratt Institute.

He loved animals and their misadventures, such an owl who butters his tie by accident and a crow who persuade a bear to wear bedsheets and a pan as clothes and hats. In his 1970–1979 Frog and Toad books, the pair visit each other at home and explore their natural surroundings, sometimes seeing other animals like the mailman snail or birds that eat cookies Frog and Toad throw out when they can’t stop eating them. Many of these stories still make me giggle, like Toad waking up and making a list. “Wake up,” he writes, then crosses it out. “I have done that,” he says.

Adrianne Lobel, a Manhattan painter and set designer, said her father’s sense of humor was influenced by popular TV shows like “Bewitched” and “The Carol Burnett Show” and the polished comedy routines of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Edward Everett Horton. In her 2002 stage adaptation of the Frog and Toad stories, the opening number had the amphibian duo coming out of hibernation, somewhat dreamily, like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly’s “The Babbitt and the Bromide,” in which two men meet intermittently throughout life, exchange superficial pleasantries, and then meet in heaven and do the same.

Adrianne didn’t get excited about her father telling her his stories as a child. It was basically ‘Papa’s written another story—he’s going to read it to me now.’” She remembered arguing in the back of a car with her younger brother Adam on a road trip. “After a long silence, my father asked, ‘Do you want to hear a story?’ I guess he couldn’t stand listening to us. Thus, we settled down and he delivered in verse a story he had just constructed in his head.”

2. Frog and Toad story

When a frog and a toad find themselves awake in their respective homes on a crisp autumn day, they discover that their yards are cluttered with leaves that have fallen from the trees. The frog and the toad, who are aptly named Frog and Toad, are in constant contact with one another and are especially well-synchronized. Instead of cleaning their own yard, one of them decides to go to the other’s house and rake up the leaves there as a thoughtful surprise for their friend.

Unbeknownst to either of them, however, after the raking is over and as they are walking back to their respective homes, a breeze blows in and undoes all of their hard work, leaving their yards just as littered with leaves as they were when they started. No one is aware of the other’s helpful act, and neither is aware that his own helpful act has been deleted. Neither has any way of knowing about the other’s good act. However, both Frog and Toad have a sense of fulfillment since they believe that they have rendered a favor to the other.

Arnold Lobel produced an illustrated collection of children’s stories titled “Frog and Toad All Year,” which was initially released in 1976. This particular story, which is titled “The Surprise,” is included in the collection. The mirrored structure is straightforward yet ingenious: the gust of wind causes a disruption in the flow of what could have been a more conventional and instructive children’s story about two friends who benefit from each other’s acts of kindness. As the narrative comes to a close, the acts of selflessness that Frog and Toad performed amounted to nothing more than the satisfaction that they each derived from it. In what ways does this teach a child something?

Is it true that performing acts of kindness can elevate one’s mood, even if those acts are not acknowledged by others? Why is it that the people we feel the closest to will never have a complete understanding of how much we care for them? That frogs and toads should not be trusted with the most fundamental tasks in the garden? In spite of the fact that it is a satisfying finish, the ending that Lobel provides, which reads, “That night, Frog and Toad were both happy when they each turned out the light and went to bed,” nonetheless causes the mind to wander.

When one thinks about it, one wonders if the friends will get together the following day and question each other with eager anticipation whether or not cleaning up their yards had been challenging, only to be surprised when they find out that it was, in fact, challenging. Instead, the next story in the book sees Toad waiting excitedly for Frog to come at his house for Christmas Eve dinner. This is similar to how a sitcom begins each episode with a blank slate for the narrative, and it is also the case in the text of the book.

Frog arrives at Toad’s door with a present in his hand after Toad has finished imagining all of the most dramatic things that may have happened to Frog on his way over and is getting ready to head out to rescue him. He had been wrapping it, which is the reason he was late. ” As Toad spoke to Frog, he exclaimed, “Oh, Frog, I am so happy to be spending Christmas with you.”

3. “Frog and Toad” was the real start of him coming out.

The “Frog and Toad” books are still available to young parents. I asked Adrianne, who has a teen daughter, why the two personas have endured. She said that was his sole relationship-related writing. I’ve watched children grow up, and that whole drama that’s kind of the precursor to the hell of romance later in life—who is best friends with whom and who likes who when, and this person doesn’t like me now—it’s very painful, and I think children like to hear that Frog and Toad go through this every day.

In “Alone,” from “Days with Frog and Toad,” Toad visits Frog but finds a note on the door saying, “Dear Toad, I am not at home.” Out I went. I crave solitude.” “Frog has me for a friend,” Toad says, in trouble. Why does he crave solitude? Toad thinks that Frog is unhappy and doesn’t want to see him anymore when he finds him sitting and contemplating on a distant island.

When they meet (after Toad falls headfirst into the river and soaks his lunch sandwiches), Frog declares, “I am happy. Very happy. Sunlight made me feel nice this morning. I felt good being a frog. I felt good having you as a buddy. I desired solitude. I wanted to consider how elegant everything is.” Frog and Toad are happiest together, thus their love struggles are worth it.

This narrative delves into the affectionate relationship between Frog and Toad, adorned in their signature shirts, symbolizing their unique bond. The story not only celebrates love in its many forms but also encourages acceptance and understanding, set against the backdrop of their enchanting, amphibious world. Show your support by wearing our frog and toad shirt!