Heed The Cry Or Catch A Fly

It all comes down to the focus of their attention.  When you work with younger children, sometimes their concentration seems to be superficial; easily distracted by the least little thing (like a flock of wild turkeys crossing the playground during story time.) Other times a brass band could pass by them and they would not even look.  They remain riveted to whatever it is they are watching, hearing or doing.

In this second scenario you might momentarily grab a glance but they make a choice to continue their current fascination.  Toad on the Road: A Cautionary Tale (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, May 16, 2017) written and illustrated by Stephen Shaskan is about a similar situation.  When an amphibian happens to hop on a thoroughfare, it had better beware.

Toad on the road.
Toad on the road.
Oh no! Oh no!
There's a toad on the road!

This toad captivated by a buzzing fly is about to be joined by a traveler, a very large traveler unable to slow his mode of transportation.  Yikes!  It's a bear riding a bicycle.  A tremendous crash echoes on the highway.

The bear with the destroyed two-wheeler warns the toad to get off the road.  He even asks the rascal what his mother would tell him to do.  Does the little imp listen?  He does not.  Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Then a car and a van, one after the other, driven by equally alert individuals follow the same route.  The small green scamp is strongly advised to move and move quickly.  Both times a racket booms through the air.  There are now three bent and broken, flipped and fragmented vehicles in a pile.

 Where is the toad you ask?  He's still on the road!  Here comes a truck heading straight for the happy hopper.  With a comical twist, the tale comes to a surprising conclusion.


Author Stephen Shaskan writes with complete confidence in what his intended audience will enjoy.  The rhyming and repetition give us no other option than reading or singing the lines aloud.  They are loaded with liveliness and laughter.  As each animal moves on down the road, only the exclamation is changed to rhyme with them and their vehicle.  Here is a continuation of the first set of phrases.

Who's that coming down the road?
Oh yikes!  Oh yikes!
It's a ...
Bear on a bike!


When you first look at that toad on the road on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, you have to laugh or at the very least smile.  His grin draws you into his great mood.  And look at the fly.  He's smiling too!  The scene on the right continues to the left, on the back.  In silhouette the three vehicles with their drivers are shown moving along the highway in the distance.  It's a prelude to hilarity.  Toad green covers the opening and closing endpapers.

With a page turn we see a loop-de-loop trail of the fly buzzing over the tip-top of the toad's head and eyes, looking upward.  On the verso the toad is leaping after the fly as he buzzes around and through the title text on the opposite page.  They both look so happy you can almost hear them giggling.

All of the images, rendered digitally in Photoshop, by Stephen Shaskan span edge to edge across two pages.  As each episode unfolds the perspective moves from farther away and then closer to the toad and the traveler followed by the ensuing pandemonium.  The complete "que sera sera" attitude displayed on the face of the toad contrasted with the looks of dread on the drivers' faces provides loads of comedy.  Readers will also have a ton of fun watching the toad and fly playing; the flight patterns of the insect and the body postures of the toad are full of humor.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when the van is coming down the road right at the toad.  Off to the left, the bear and croc are watching horrified.  The bear wearing the small red bicycle helmet and the croc wearing his top hat are gasping, wide-mouthed.  The croc has a front foot up to his mouth.  The bear is pointing too frightened to look. Their expressions are hysterical.


Once you read Toad on the Road written and illustrated by Stephen Shaskan aloud, expect multiple requests to read it again.  It will be hard for you and your listeners to not start singing the tale.  It's got a beat that pleads for this kind of play.  You will probably want to use it for reader's theater too.  I highly recommend you get copies for your professional and personal bookshelves.  (I think toad on the road will be winding through my mind for days.)

To learn more about Stephen Shaskan and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  Enjoy the book trailer premiered at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  It's a real toe-tapper and hand-clapper.

The Grass Is Always Greener

It was undeniably a rite of passage in our neighborhood.  As each child reached a certain age, when the first cutting of the lawn came in the spring, you could see them proudly pushing a mower.  If the yards were bigger and they were older you might see them riding on a big green John Deere.

Even today there is something satisfying about the lines made in a freshly mowed lawn and the memory-laden smell of the cut grass.  Humans are not the only ones taking pleasure in mowing.  An exceptional amphibian singles out a special day each week to complete his task.  McToad Mows Tiny Island (Abrams Books For Young Readers, September 1, 2015) a transportation tale by Tom Angleberger with pictures by John Hendrix is an extraordinary journey filled with amazement and laughter.

McToad likes Thursdays.

McToad is fond of Thursday because this is the day he gets to mow Tiny Island.  His home is on Big Island.  On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday he mows Big Island.  

It's no easy hop, skip and a jump to get to Tiny Island.  In fact, it's quite a process to arrive at this destination.  To begin McToad fires up his red riding lawn mower moving it from the shed up a plank into the back of HIS McToad Lawn Care truck.

With the ease of a true expert McToad loads his mower from the truck using a forklift to the flat bed car of HIS train.  This train soon arrives at the airport.  (I don't know about you but at this point I am wondering how big Big Island is.)  A handy dandy conveyor belt takes his faithful grass cutter to HIS airplane.

Three vehicles, one machine and a structure of wood later, the mower and McToad land on Tiny Island.  Our audacious landscaper thoroughly enjoys his time on this plot of land in the middle of the ocean; even pausing to sip a lemonade drink.  With an equally involved return trip home the caretaker and his machine come to rest as the sun slowly sinks on the horizon.


With the first three words Tom Angleberger has our attention.  We can't help but wonder why McToad likes Thursdays.  Sentence by sentence he builds an and then kind of story.  We can feel the anticipation growing.  That's what makes the sentence in the narrative which matches the title utterly fantastic.  If you don't burst out laughing, you're probably not breathing.


Opening up the dust jacket readers can readily see John Hendrix has created another illustrative masterpiece in color, design and typography.  His use of rich reds, vibrant greens and golden yellows are warm and inviting.  McToad looks pleased beyond measure as he does what he loves best.  We want to join him.

On the back, to the left, a series of wide red arrows point out the pathway, transfers and stops McToad and his mower make on the return excursion home.  Pages from an account book with the noted property, date and amount columns filled in carefully cover the book case.  The opening endpapers feature McToad beginning a lawn with several diagonal strips indicating his progress as he faces the reader.  On the closing endpapers his work is nearly done as he putts along wearing his patched worn hat with his back to us.

Before the title page, which hints at future events, McToad stands wiping his brow, holding a walking stick with his hat on top of it.  Rendered in pen and ink with fluid acrylic washes on Strathmore Bristol vellum most of the illustrations span two pages, edge to edge.  When the narrative asks us to pause Hendrix shifts to single pages for pacing and impact.

Attentive readers will note Hendrix's nod to his children and his The Holy Ghost graphic episodes and to Tom Angleberger's middle grade novel characters.  His close-ups of McToad as he stands in front of the map in his shed and adjusts the mirror in his truck as well as when he mows Tiny Island convey pure contentment.  One of my many favorite illustrations is of McToad flying HIS helicopter to a large boat moored to a dock.  Both hands are gripping the controls as he carries the mower hanging in a tarp from the bottom of the vehicle.  He is, of course, wearing goggles.  From left to right the perspective shifts from in the air with McToad to a bird's eye view of the land.


For pure entertainment McToad Mows Tiny Island with words by Tom Angleberger and pictures by John Hendrix is unlike any other transportation tale you've read.  You can't help but feel the fun in the blend of text and images these two stellar artists must have had bringing this story to readers.  Start your engines everyone, it's time to get going and mowing.

To discover more about Tom Angleberger and John Hendrix please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  John Hendrix has a page dedicated to this book here.  If you go to Twitter and search under the title of the book, many people have sent out messages about this book.  I will include some of them below.  Tom Angleberger is interviewed at Reading Rockets in a series of videos.  Teacher librarian, Travis Jonker, reviews this title on his blog 100 Scope Notes at the School Library Journal site.  John Hendrix is a guest at teacher librarian, Matthew C. Winner's Let's Get Busy Podcast #186.  UPDATE:  November 20, 2015 Author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson, features art from this title on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast,  along with a link to her discussion of the book at Kirkus last week.

McToad buttons for the launch of "McToad Mows Tiny Island" tonight at @subbooks 5:30pm! pic.twitter.com/CWYryiVgyf

— John Hendrix (@hendrixart) September 29, 2015

Behind the scenes peek at McToad Mows Tiny Island! Secret screen tests that @hendrixart and I used to… https://t.co/ovyA9N4UUY

— OrigamiYoda (@OrigamiYoda) September 1, 2015

#Bookaday McToad Mows Tiny Island by @OrigamiYoda & @hendrixart https://t.co/4DJ3ShdBh9. I want McToad Lawn Care to cut my grass!

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) August 21, 2015