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It’s that they had that moment and they’re both happy for each other to get the letter. It didn’t matter that the story, quote unquote, was broken. And then, you know, the story ends very sweetly and they get the letter. H breaks the story in order just to get that over with. And Frog can’t wait to tell Toad that, you know, you will get a letter because I wrote you one. And then he comes back and they start to wait for the mailman, which is Toad’s saddest time of day.

There’s the story, “The Letter,” where Toad is despondent because he has never gotten a letter and Frog goes home and writes a letter saying, I’m so glad you’re my friend. Sandra Newman: There’s a very couples therapy air to to the books I find where they’re always finding ideal solutions to tricky things to negotiate in a relationship.Įllen Tarlow: Some of the stories are very much just about what childhood stories are about. But they are always on the edge of trying to make sure that the relationship is smooth, you know, and I guess all of us who have been involved in intimate relationships and can relate to that. You just get the sense that they are always trying to ave a lovely time enjoying each other, this frog and toad. But he does it in a humorous way, and he also managed to do it in a soothing way. They do it in a way that they really deal so much with the messiness of intimacy, where it’s just about how you feel if someone doesn’t pay attention to you for a minute. Among other subjects, the episode discusses Lobel’s preoccupation with solitude, his subtle handling of the minutiae of relationships, and how his work intersects with his personal biography (you can read more background here).Įllen Tarlow: First of all, I think there were a lot of things that make special, but I think one of the reasons that people like it so much, both adults and children, is that because of the genre … these books really just hone in on what it feels to be close to another person or, you know, to another frog or amphibian. In today’s episode, Nichols and Newman invite guest Ellen Tarlow to discuss Arnold Lobel’s classic Frog and Toad series, beginning with Frog and Toad Are Friends from 1970. Combining literary analysis with an in-depth look at historical context, hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols choose one book for each year of the 20th century, and-along with special guests-will take a deep dive into a hundred years of literature. Welcome to Lit Century: 100 Years, 100 Books.

Arnold lobel frog and toad