Mouse Was Mad
Ages 3 to 7Listed among picture books about anger. The parent says Mouse tries to hop, scream and stomp like the others, nothing seems right, and then he finds what to do with his big feelings.
Recommended by What Do We Do All Day?
Ages 4 to 8Frog and Toad Together
Ages 4 to 8About this age guidance
Parnassus: 4-8; I Can Read Level 2
The age tag follows Review age ranges. Other sources may suggest different ages. This is audience guidance, not an independent reading level.
Reviews the five stories, including Toad's impatient garden and the cookies they can't stop eating.
The Garden: Toad plants seeds and, impatient that nothing is happening, yells at them to grow. The Garden: Frog tells Toad the shouting is frightening the seeds, so Toad stops shouting. The Garden: Toad waits it out by tending the seeds gently, with candles in case they fear the dark, then stories, poems and music. The Garden: Toad falls asleep, wakes to find the seeds have sprouted, and tells Frog that gardening is hard work (comic misreading of what made them grow). Cookies: Frog and Toad keep eating 'one last cookie' and can't stop; Frog says they need willpower. Cookies: Frog puts the cookies in a box, ties it with string, puts it on a high shelf; each time Toad notes they could just undo it. Cookies: Frog takes the box outside and calls the birds, who carry all the cookies off. Neither friend asks an adult; they remove the temptation themselves. Cookies: Toad is sad there are none left; Frog points to their willpower; Toad says he's going home to bake a cake.
Recommended by Plugged In
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What children see in the story
The Garden: Toad waits it out by tending the seeds gently, with candles in case they fear the dark, then stories, poems and music. Cookies: Frog takes the box outside and calls the birds, who carry all the cookies off. Neither friend asks an adult; they remove the temptation themselves.
Why it’s on these shelves
- Handling big feelings
- Toad yells at his seeds to grow. When Frog says the shouting scares them, Toad reads and sings to them instead and waits. In another story Frog gives the cookies to the birds so they can stop eating them.
Why pick it up?
Five short Frog and Toad stories in an I Can Read book. A Newbery Honor book that children can start reading themselves.
A note for parents
Five short chapters; point your child to 'The Garden' for waiting and 'Cookies' for stopping yourself. Toad's yelling at the seeds and his 'I'll go bake a cake' are jokes, and kids usually get that he's the silly one. Early reader format, so 5-7s can read parts themselves. 'Dragons and Giants' has a snake, avalanche and hawk, played for comedy.
Where this recommendation comes from
Plugged In
Reviews the five stories, including Toad's impatient garden and the cookies they can't stop eating.
Read Focus on the Family’s recommendationSources and review status
We checked professional reviews and parent or educator accounts of the story, including how it ends. We have not personally read the full book.
Publisher or literacy resource · Original recommendation
Our explanation of the value fit is separate from the original reviewer’s judgment. Their inclusion here does not imply an endorsement of Stories for Growing.
Another good example
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Saturday
Ages 4 to 9A favorite recommendation for the relationship between mother and child.
Recommended by Happily Ever Elephants