Admittedly, we took Malcolm to the Frog and Toad party pretty late in the game. Friends of ours were big fans of the series, so we tried it out, and I am so glad we did. Frog and Toad are like an amphibeanized version of the odd couple, each with their own charms. Toad is squat and brown; a bit of a homebody, he is always trying to invent reasons to go back to bed. Frog is tall and green, into adventure and has to constantly invent new ways of motivating Toad to do anything. They both crave sweets constantly and make a pretty cute couple.
One of the things I like most about this book (and the series) is that Frog and Toad are always looking for nice things to do for each other. At some points in his short life, Malcolm has the look of pure evil, and we are hoping that the constant theme of friendliness will rub off on Malcolm at some point. In the thrilling climax to the book, Toad is worried that Frog has gotten either lost or attacked by a pretty savage looking wolf with big sharp teeth. Toad wants to save the day, and gets ready to set out after his friend with a frying pan, some rope and a lantern. Unless Toad planned on tying up the wolf and sauteing the it, I hope that Malcolm won’t learn any survival skills in the story. He should take note, though, that Frog was merely late because he was wrapping Toad’s Christmas present. This book is simple, fun and sweet, everything that I think a kids book should be.
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“Blah”, said Toad. “I am down in the dumps.”