Frog and Toad

• Frog is taller with a green shade and is more cheery and relaxed than Toad. • Toad is shorter and stout with a brown shade and, while just as caring and friendly as Frog, is also the more serious and uptight of the duo. ==Origins==

When Lobel was sick and out of school for much of second grade, he kept himself busy by drawing. He used his animal drawings as a way of coping with the social insecurity of his return and to make friends. His books about animal friends, such as Frog and Toad, were drawn from these experiences. Lobel himself wrote, "Frog and Toad are really two aspects of myself". In The New Yorker, his daughter Adrianne Lobel suggested "that there's another dimension to the series' sustained popularity. Frog and Toad are of the same sex, and they love each other". Lobel was a closeted gay man for much of his life; he came out to family four years following the publication of the first book of the series. ==Books==

• Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970), They are written, illustrated, and delivered in a manner different from the original four books. • The Frogs and Toads All Sang (2009), color by Adrianne Lobel, • Odd Owls and Stout Pigs: A Book of Nonsense (2009), color by Adrianne Lobel, ==Reception==

Frog and Toad is valued by experts in children's literature for its portrayal of the value of friendship. Frog and Toad are Friends was a Caldecott Honor Book, or runner-up for the annual American Library Association (ALA) Caldecott Medal, which recognizes children's picture book illustration. Frog and Toad Together was a Newbery Honor Book, which recognizes children's literature. The awards recognize "media that 'affirm the highest values of the human spirit'  ... Award winners encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature and motivate artists and the general public to use their best instincts on behalf of others". In 2023, Frog and Toad was repopularized as part of the cottagecore trend. ==Adaptations==

In the 1980s, Churchill Films produced 18-minute adaptations of the first two books using clay animation. Both films were directed by John Clark Matthews, credited also as theme music composer and one principal animator. Frog and Toad were voiced by Will Ryan and Hal Smith respectively. Only Frog and Toad Are Friends was narrated by Lobel. Frog and Toad Are Friends was released on May 23, 1985, while Frog and Toad Together was released on September 3, 1987. They were distributed to the home market only (direct-to-video). In 1996, two of the Frog and Toad books were adapted into audio cassette tapes those being Days With Frog and Toad and Frog and Toad All Year which were both published by Abbey Home Entertainment. Both of the audio cassette tapes were narrated by British actor Peter Sallis. The Frog and Toad books inspired a Broadway musical, A Year with Frog and Toad. The musical was commissioned by Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel, played off-Broadway, and ran briefly on Broadway in 2003. It was nominated for three Tony Awards. Prior to this, the books had inspired a non-musical play, "Frog and Toad (Forever)", written by Y York, and performed at Seattle Children's Theatre in 1998 and First Stage Children's Theater in Milwaukee in 1999. An animated series based on the books premiered on Apple TV on April 28, 2023. It stars Nat Faxon as Frog and Kevin Michael Richardson as Toad. It also features Ron Funches, Fortune Feimster, Yvette Nicole Brown, Margaret Cho, Cole Escola, Tom Kenny and Aparna Nancherla. A Christmas special was released on December 1, 2023. The second season was released on May 31, 2024. ==References==