Celebrating Arnold Lobel

Arnold Lobel

Today, May 22nd is children's author and illustrator Arnold Lobel's birthday and we choose to recognize his tremendous gifts and contributions, particularly his poignant short stories involving fast friends Frog and Toad.   Their tales highlight the magic of true friendship while they together search for a lost button, eat too many cookies, share stories, go for a swim, and enjoy countless other adventures.  Throughout these stories, the more friendly and adventurous Frog discovers ways to engage the more irritable and serious Toad.  The successful way Lobel's stories highlight the capacity for friends to support, inspire, and build lasting friendships continues to resonate with readers of all ages.

In addition to authoring and illustrating his own books, Lobel illustrated the stories of countless other children's authors including works by Millicent E. Selsam, Jack Prelutsky, and Nathaniel Benchley.  Lobel's book Fables won the 1981 Caldecott Medal recognizing the year's best-illustrated U.S. picture book.

Cover of Lobel's first book circa 1970

The Water Library has a selection of Lobel's Frog and Toad books and audiobooks for check out.
Frog and Toad are Friends (1970)
Frog and Toad Together (1972)
Frog and Toad Audio Collection
This includes the stories Frog and Toad are Friends,  Frog and Toad All Year, Frog and Toad Together, and Days with Frog and Toad all read by the author.
The Frogs and Toads All Sang (2009)
A collection of ten short stories in rhyme featuring frogs, toads, and polliwogs, colored by his daughter Adrianne.

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.