Toad has been reading for twenty minutes and Frog has not moved once. He is lying in the grass with that particular quality of stillness that only happens when someone is being read to by their favorite person in the world, the kind of stillness that is not restful at all but actually the most alert and receptive state a person can be in. Toad is doing the voices. He always does the voices. This is one of the reasons Frog loves him.
Frog and Toad
Arnold Lobel published the first Frog and Toad book in 1970, and the four books that followed over the next decade went on to win a Caldecott Honor, a Newbery Honor, and the enduring devotion of what is now several generations of readers who grew up understanding without being told that a good friendship is one of the most important things in a life. The series has been adapted into a Broadway musical and an Emmy-nominated animated series, and it is still in print, still being read aloud, still making people feel seen and understood in the way that only the best books can.
Lobel once said that Frog and Toad were two aspects of himself. Frog the optimist, adventurous and gently steady. Toad the worrier, anxious and deeply loyal and funnier than he means to be. Together they garden and bake cookies and go swimming and tell each other stories, and through all of it they are simply and completely there for each other in the way that the best friendships always are. There is no tidy bow at the end of any of it. There are just two friends, sitting together, which turns out to be enough.
Being read to is something that is good for all of us, no matter our age. Frog has always known this. He is lying in the grass right now and he would like you to remember it too.
The Piece
Two mismatched earrings, each one its own complete scene. On one ear Frog reclines in the grass beneath a large daisy, completely at ease, hands folded, listening with his whole body to the story being read to him. The daisy arches over him on its stem like a canopy, petals hand carved and spread wide. On the other ear Toad sits upright against a tall mushroom, book open, reading aloud with great seriousness in front of a spiky purple thistle that towers behind him. Both scenes sit inside open arch frames, the whole composition wide enough to feel like looking through a little window into their afternoon.
At the top of each earring a round vivid green vesuvianite cabochon glows like a patch of sunlight coming through forest leaves, that intense spring green that feels exactly like the world these two have always lived in. The posts and earring backs are sterling silver throughout.
Frog's earring is approximately 2 inches tall from the top of the stone to the bottom. Toad's earring is approximately 2.5 inches tall from the top of the stone to the bottom of his toes, because Toad is sitting up and has more presence to account for.
The Craftsmanship
- Earrings: mismatched pair, Frog approximately 2 inches tall, Toad approximately 2.5 inches tall
- Stones: round vivid green vesuvianite cabochons
- Material: sterling silver throughout, oxidized
- Style: post earrings with dangle scenes
- Edition: one of a kind
One of a Kind
There is only one Frog and only one Toad. This particular afternoon, this daisy, this mushroom, this story being read aloud in the garden: they exist once. When they find their person they will never be made again exactly like this.
A Note from Tamara
I grew up with Frog and Toad the way most people did, which is to say I grew up understanding that the best kind of friend is the one who will lie in the grass and listen while you read to them, and also the one who will read to you when you need it. I made these earrings because I wanted to wear that feeling. That specific quality of a Tuesday afternoon with your favorite person and nothing that needs doing and a good story to share between you. I hope whoever wears them thinks of their Frog or their Toad every single time they put them on.
Shipping
Your Frog and Toad are finished, packaged safely, and will be on their way to you within 3 to 5 business days.