Toad by the Road: A Year in the Life of These Amazing Amphibians - Hardcover

Ryder, Joanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080507354X ISBN 13: 9780805073546

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2007

Synopsis

Explore a toad’s life cycle

Toads are small and often unseen by human eyes, but their world is rich and varied. The toads in these eloquent poems describe their many wonders, from sticky fly-catching tongues, to the way they shed skin, and camouflage. Joanne Ryder traces the life cycle of amphibians as they change from springtime tadpoles into full-grown toads that hibernate in winter. Maggie Kneen’s illustrations showcase toads in their natural habitat with precise, dramatic detail. You’ll never think of toads the same way again! Toad by the Road is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

About this title

About the Author

Joanne Ryder is the author of numerous books for young readers, including Earthdance and A Fawn in the Grass. She lives in Pacific Grove, California.
Maggie Kneen is the illustrator of many books for children, such as Thimbleberry Stories and Mouse Tail Moon. She lives in Cheshire, England.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—Delightful verses and vivid watercolors provide an inventive introduction to toads. Grouped by season, the sections contain five to seven brief poems accompanied by full-bleed paintings or spot illustrations. In spring, males awaken from their long sleep to sing, "Puffing like balloons,/Blowing out their tunes"; migrating toads encounter dangers such as a hungry snake or automobile traffic ("Beware!/Please cross/The road/With wide-eyed care"); and tadpoles transform into toadlets. Summer is the time for eating insects ("My tongue is a tool....It's long and it's swift/And it's covered with goo./I flick it at cricket/And stick him with glue"); croaking along with "The Thunder Toad" in the sky; and soaking up rain. As the weather changes in autumn, one toad molts while another camouflages itself beneath fallen leaves. Winter means digging a burrow ("Sheltered safe from ice and snow") and hibernating until spring. Written with simple language, rhythmic repetition, and flowing rhymes, the poems read aloud beautifully; they consistently mix interesting toad trivia with whimsy. Sentences printed in a smaller font provide additional facts. The artwork, which is realistic yet pleasingly soft-looking, depicts the animals in action, shows their habitat, and echoes the text's sense of wonder. Like Joyce Sidman's Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton, 2006), Toad by the Road melds poetry, art, and information into an educational and imagination-stirring romp through nature.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
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Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 080507354X
• ISBN 13: 9780805073546
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Kneen Maggie