Frog and Toad Are Friends Homeschool Literature Study Guide

In 'Spring,' Frog tears pages off Toad's calendar so Toad believes winter is over and it is time to wake up. Toad starts grumpy and sleepy but ends up happy to be outside with Frog. In 'The Story,' Toad tries several silly things to get ideas—walking up and down, standing on his head, pouring water over his head—because he wants to help his sick friend. Accept any accurate retelling of Toad's efforts; the key point is that Toad keeps trying because he cares about Frog.

In 'Spring,' Frog is the helper—he works to get Toad out of bed and into the sunshine. In 'The Story,' Toad is the helper—he works hard to think of a story for sick Frog. Guide your child to notice that the friends take turns being the one who gives and the one who receives help. This is a natural opening to talk about what friendship looks like when it goes both ways.

The found buttons are wrong in different ways: one is too small, another is too thin, one has two holes instead of four, and so on. Each time, Toad points out exactly why the button is not his. Encourage your child to remember at least two or three of the reasons. The detail that matters is that Toad's button is very specific to him.

Toad finds his button at home on the floor of his own jacket pocket. He then sews all the collected wrong buttons onto his jacket as a gift for Frog. Guide your child to think about how Toad's feelings change—he starts frustrated and ends generous. Ask: why do you think Toad gave the buttons to Frog instead of throwing them away?

Toad feels embarrassed about how he looks in his bathing suit. He makes Frog promise not to let anyone see him. Frog agrees. The key idea is that Toad trusts Frog to keep his secret and protect his feelings.

Frog calls out to Toad from the water, and the commotion draws other animals to the riverbank. When Toad finally climbs out, the animals see him and laugh. Toad is mortified and hurries away. Guide your child to notice that Frog did not break his promise on purpose—things just went wrong anyway. You might ask: do you think Frog was a good friend even though the embarrassing thing still happened? Why or why not?

Frog writes Toad a letter telling him what a good friend he is, then asks a snail to deliver it. Frog even tells Toad about the letter right away, so Toad knows to watch for it—which means Toad spends a happy afternoon waiting and hoping. The central idea is that Frog's simple act of writing turns Toad's sad waiting into joyful anticipation.

Answers will vary—accept any story the child can explain with a specific detail. A child might choose 'A Lost Button' because they searched together, or 'The Story' because Toad tried hard to help Frog feel better, or 'The Letter' because Frog worked to solve Toad's problem. The goal is for your child to name a specific action, not just a feeling. Prompt with: 'What did each friend actually do?' if needed.