Lobel's place in history may forever be marked for his Frog and Toad series. And it should be. Those stories are brilliant and they continue to give and give no matter at what age you return to them.
The very mention of Frog and Toad may even be causing some sort of emotional hiccup in you right now. I know I've got raking leaves on my mind... and it's nearly May.
Rarely do we get to see the genesis of a great idea which probably explains why publishers jumped on this opportunity so quickly. As explained in the author's note from his daughter, Mr. Lobel loved to create hand-drawn books for his family and friends and, as it turns out, three such handmade volumes were discovered at the estate auction some time after Lobel's passing.
I think the best part about these books is that you don't have to be a huge Lobel fan to appreciate them. They're great books, plain and simple. It's not as though they were published for sentimental or collector value, as happens all too often in the music industry in the form of rarities, lost tracks, etc.
I doubt they would be the way a student now would "discover" Arnold Lobel and then the Frog and Toad books because of the continued popularity of monsieur Frog and close friend Toad, but they would most certainly be enjoyed by readers nonetheless.
I'm due a new bag of books to read and finish off before the end of the Shelf Challenge and, therefore, the end of the month, but I'm looking forward to Frog and Toad Together as the very first read of the last set.
- Matthew
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