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Frog and Toad

 It's easy to think of Frog as perfect--but, actually, he gaslights Toad.


When spring arrives, Toad wants to sleep for another month. He says, "Wake me up in June." Annoyed, Frog just tears several sheets off Toad's calendar. "Look, it's June!" he lies. Toad doesn't question the falsehood, and the story ends in this ambiguous and unsettling way.

James Marshall rewrites this scenario. In his version, Martha gets impatient with a sleeping George--and just straps roller skates to the bottom of George's bed. Martha then pushes the bed to a picnic. But the act of pushing exhausts her, and she sleeps through the feast. (George has a great time.)

The stories suggest that both Marshall and Lobel were thinking about consent and control. And they were bold enough to allow their "heroes" to act in unheroic ways. I appreciate that.












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