This passage, in particular, resonated with me. My mother has forever been a huge fan of children's books. She's kept collecting them well after me and my sister had grown "too old" for them and...
This passage, in particular, resonated with me.
“The characters came from who he was,” she told me. “He never condescended to children.”
Acknowledging the fact that adults and kids feel with the same passion and intensity, even if they read on different levels, is central to both the composition and reception of Lobel’s books. As attuned as contemporary children’s literature is to the psychological and developmental needs of children, it’s still surprising, as a parent reading Frog and Toad, to hear your kids spoken to the way Lobel speaks to them, and to hear the way he speaks to you too.
My mother has forever been a huge fan of children's books. She's kept collecting them well after me and my sister had grown "too old" for them and even the next generation of cousins wasn't really a good excuse, and Frog and Toad is still one of her favourites for this very reason. To her the greatest children's writers were always the ones who respected the emotional complexity and critical capacity of children, authors that didn't shy away from difficult topics like death, disease, personal conflict etc. but also understood that a huge part of the drama of the lives of children happens at a smaller "scale".
She sometimes shows me some of the books she's collected over the years and I have to say, sometimes they really do manage to encapsulate complicated life experiences in very simple words, moreso than many an aspiring writer.
There is something magical about an amazing children's story. The author put a lot of himself and his relationships into both the Frog and the Toad characters. Yet they are polar opposites. One is...
There is something magical about an amazing children's story.
The author put a lot of himself and his relationships into both the Frog and the Toad characters. Yet they are polar opposites. One is spontaneous and fun, the other is.... the opposite of that. The author hoped he was more like Frog, but feared he was more like Toad.
I wish I had discovered Frog and Toad sooner, as I never seem to tire of reading the stories.
Does your mother have any favorites for children aged 8-12?
Probably either Duck, Death and the Tulip, or anything by Toon Tellegen (though I'm not sure he's been translated into English). Both skew a little younger than 8 but my Mother doesn't make much...
Does your mother have any favorites for children aged 8-12?
Probably either Duck, Death and the Tulip, or anything by Toon Tellegen (though I'm not sure he's been translated into English). Both skew a little younger than 8 but my Mother doesn't make much of a distinction in terms of age categories.
This passage, in particular, resonated with me.
My mother has forever been a huge fan of children's books. She's kept collecting them well after me and my sister had grown "too old" for them and even the next generation of cousins wasn't really a good excuse, and Frog and Toad is still one of her favourites for this very reason. To her the greatest children's writers were always the ones who respected the emotional complexity and critical capacity of children, authors that didn't shy away from difficult topics like death, disease, personal conflict etc. but also understood that a huge part of the drama of the lives of children happens at a smaller "scale".
She sometimes shows me some of the books she's collected over the years and I have to say, sometimes they really do manage to encapsulate complicated life experiences in very simple words, moreso than many an aspiring writer.
There is something magical about an amazing children's story.
The author put a lot of himself and his relationships into both the Frog and the Toad characters. Yet they are polar opposites. One is spontaneous and fun, the other is.... the opposite of that. The author hoped he was more like Frog, but feared he was more like Toad.
I wish I had discovered Frog and Toad sooner, as I never seem to tire of reading the stories.
Does your mother have any favorites for children aged 8-12?
Probably either Duck, Death and the Tulip, or anything by Toon Tellegen (though I'm not sure he's been translated into English). Both skew a little younger than 8 but my Mother doesn't make much of a distinction in terms of age categories.
Is that where you get your username from?
Can you narrow it down to one specific recommendation? English or Spanish is fine.
Haha, no. It was just something I kind of picked on a whim.
The Squirell's Birthday and Other Parties might be a good place to start,