Are
you wearing green today?
I wore a green shirt to work today. Gem wore a tie emblazoned with shamrocks.
Neither of us has any ancestral connections with Ireland, of which we’re aware,
anyway. However, when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, we’re delighted to
celebrate with the Irish. Many of the children taking part in the
Spring break activities at my book store were also clad in a bit o’ green.
Perhaps the greenest of green children’s books are the “Frog and Toad”
series, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Frog And Toad Are Friends
(1970), Frog And Toad Together (1972), Frog And Toad All Year (1976). These ‘I Can Read’ early readers are winners
of both the Newbery for distinguished writing and the Caldecott for excellence
in illustration. They are classic works of children’s literature. Filled with
wisdom and laughter, friendship and silliness, these stories possess a gentle
magic. Frog and Toad fly kites, take long walks, ride bicycles, read to each other, swim and cook,
and clean Toad’s very messy house. They dream and imagine, are brave and
hopeful, and goad and tease each other with an old-fashioned courtesy that is
nonetheless still amusing today.
And, they’re green. Well, of course, you may be thinking. After
all, frogs and toads, by their very nature, are green. But the illustrations in
these books take that greenness to another level; everything in them is tinted,
shaded, coloured and imbued with every hue of green imaginable. This includes the walls of
their houses, their furniture, their clothes; the food they eat, the very air
they breathe on the pages. Green, greener, greenest. How this is achieved is a
remarkable feat of artistry.
Apparently, these characters were inspired by boyhood summer holidays
when Arnold Lobel spent much of his time observing frogs and toads in a nearby
pond. He found the creatures beautiful, interesting and comical, and years
later they would form the basis for his lovely tales.
“You can keep your willpower, Frog. I am going home to bake
a cake.”
― Arnold Lobel, Frog and Toad Together
Actually, cake
sounds rather good right now. I think I shall do likewise, and ice it
with a little greenish butter-cream, by way of adding some Froggish- Toadish (and Irish) charm.
