Mister Toad - Hardcover

Watson

4

8 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027925277 ISBN 13: 9780027925272

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1992

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Mister Toad loves his house inside a stone wall, until it is invaded by unwanted visitors.

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From Publishers Weekly:

Staid Mr. Toad's tranquil home in a garden wall is disturbed by the simultaneous arrival of an inquisitive cat and a swarm of bees. How he pits one invader against another and regains possession of his house provides the plot for this tepid work by a pair of sisters. The tale possesses an adult sensibility: Mr. Toad's concerns and preoccupations are hardly those of most children. Clyde Watson's ( Father Fox's Penny rhymes ; Valentine Foxes ) heavy-handed prose is marred by a tendency to tell rather than to show, attempts at quaint, Down East diction and an over-reliance on verbs other than "say." (Characters variously mutter, croak, announce, murmur and sigh their lines.) For the astute young reader, the book's inevitable conclusion will become obvious a good many words before the actual denouement. N. Cameron Watson's ( The Little Pigs' First Cookbook ; The Little Pigs' Puppet Book ) watercolors, in rather insipid floral hues, appear somewhat flat and static, with erratic shifts in scale. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Not one of Watson's better efforts. The story of Mr. Toad, who lives in the stone wall in old Mrs. Quimby's flower garden, is devoid of the intimacy that comes from close observation of nature. Here, the amphibian's problems with a bothersome cat and a swarm of bees that decide to inhabit his living room are solved by some sly planning on his part. Mr. Toad's human personality traits--ingenuity and patience--are one reason that he lacks the endearing charm that infuses Beatrix Potter's creatures, which despite their conversation and dress, are fairly true in character and action to their natural counterparts. Carefully executed but unexciting watercolor illustrations show the toad's cozy living quarters in an English country garden. This cleverly resolved, but blandly told, story brings to mind Potter's Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse (Warne, 1987), which holds far more appeal for its readers. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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