Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel

I feel like I would be remiss of my duties as a blogging children’s librarian if I did not write a review of one of the Frog and Toad series. My feelings on these books are complex; I love them and enjoy revisiting them. At the same time, however, I have always felt a certain air of loneliness and helplessness when reading them: the images are drab olive and browns; Toad is always hopelessly needy and doing the wrong thing (kind of the George Costanza of children’s books); and occasionally their small stature makes the rest of the world seem daunting. That said, these are great to read with beginning readers, who will love the bumbling Toad, and admire the cool and wise frog. The stories are very short so parents and children can easily read a story or two before bedtime. Also, their pants go up to their chests, which is always fun to look at! My favorite story is the one in which Toad makes cookies and the only way to resist eating them all is to give them to the birds. Such willpower George—er—Toad has! Ages 4 and up.

Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant.

There’s something about Moonlight that lends itself to being read over and over. It lends itself to being read in a whisper. I love it. It follows the nighttime prowl of a cat whose favorite night is Halloween. He watches trick-or-treaters from the shadows, watches owls and bats fly about, and even finds a fallen piece of candy! The illustrations are sometimes laughably simple, as if a ten-year-old did them and somehow this just adds to the charm of the book. Go out and get it right now. NOW! Ages 2-6.

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