Days with Frog and Toad — Chapter 4

About This Passage

Selected because Toad's three short sentences carry the heart of the chapter. The hat does not fit and Toad knows it does not fit. He says no to a different present anyway. Lobel teaches dialogue punctuation here — a quotation mark, a comma, a period — and shows how the smallest decision in a story can be the kindest thing a character does.

Narration Prompt

Tell someone what happened in this story in order. When you get to the most important part, slow down and tell it carefully — what happened, why it mattered, and what you think about it.

Discussion Questions

1. Frog gives Toad a hat for his birthday, but the hat is too big and falls down over Toad's eyes. Frog says, "I am sorry. That hat is much too big for you. I will give you something else." Toad says, "No." Why does Toad refuse a hat that does not fit when his friend has just offered him a different present? What in the story makes you think so?
2. Toad bumps into a tree, falls in a hole, and trips over a rock — all because the hat is too big. He still says, "This is a sad birthday for me." But he never says, "Frog should have given me a better hat." What kind of friend does Toad's silence make him? What in the story makes you think so?

+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide