Frog & Toad Leapfrog Necklace

Toad wrote it down on his to-do list. Right there between the other items, in his careful handwriting, in ink. Play with Frog. Not because he needed to remind himself that Frog was his best friend. Not because play was something he might forget to value. But because Toad understood something that most of us spend a lifetime trying to remember: the things that matter most are the ones worth writing down.

Frog and Toad

Arnold Lobel gave us Frog and Toad in 1970 and the four books that followed became a quiet masterpiece of everything friendship is supposed to be. They had tea together and went swimming and baked cookies and faced imaginary monsters and got through the hard days and celebrated the good ones, and through all of it they showed an entire generation of readers that play is not something you earn after the serious things are done. Play is one of the serious things. Toad knew this. He wrote it on his list.

The books have won a Caldecott Honor and a Newbery Honor and have been adapted into a Broadway musical and an Emmy-nominated animated series, and still none of that is the point. The point is that somewhere right now a child is hearing these stories for the first time and learning that the best days are the ones spent with your favorite person doing nothing in particular and everything that matters. We never get too old for that. We only sometimes forget it. Toad's list is here to remind you.

The Piece

Toad is mid-leap inside a simple open circle of sterling silver, arms flung wide, jacket on, webbed feet leaving the ground with the total commitment of someone who has decided to go for it completely and has no regrets about this decision. His jacket is rendered in careful detail, every button and lapel in place, because Toad always dresses properly even when he is playing leapfrog. His expression is one of pure and uncomplicated joy.

The circle frame is clean and unadorned, which lets Toad fill it entirely, his arms and legs extending to the edges the way a good leap should. The pendant hangs on an 18 inch sterling silver rope chain.

Only three of these necklaces will ever be made. Each one is created entirely by hand from scratch in multiple layers of sterling silver, which means each one will be ever so slightly its own, shaped by the same hands but never perfectly identical. Toad's leap will look a little different each time, the way a real leap always does.

The Craftsmanship

• Pendant: just over 1 inch wide by 1.5 inches tall including bail loops
• Material: sterling silver throughout, oxidized
• Chain: 18 inch sterling silver rope chain
• Edition: limited to 3, made to order

Limited Edition

Only three of these necklaces will ever exist. Each one is made to order by hand, which means each Toad will be slightly unique, shaped by the same tools and the same care but never perfectly identical to the others. Once all three have found their homes this particular leap will be over. There will not be a fourth.

A Note from Tamara

I made this necklace because I think about Toad's to-do list more than I probably should. There is something about the act of writing Play with Frog on a list alongside all the other necessary things that feels like one of the wisest things anyone has ever done in children's literature. It says that joy is not a reward for finishing the serious work. It says that joy is the serious work. I hope whoever wears this necklace feels that reminder against their chest on the days when the list gets long and the afternoon gets away from them. Write it down if you have to. Play with your Frog. It belongs on the list.

Shipping

Your Toad will be made to order just for you in my little studio in the New Hampshire woods. Please allow one to two weeks for him to be created. You will receive a tracking number by email so you can follow him on his journey to his new home.