What is "frog and toad"

n. (context Cockney rhyming slang English) road.

Frog and Toad are the main characters in a series of easy-reader children's books, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel (who also wrote Mouse Soup).

Each book contains five simple, often humorous, sometimes poignant, short stories chronicling the exploits of a frog and his friend, a toad. Some of their adventures include: attempting to fly a kite, cleaning Toad's dirty house as opposed to waiting until "Tomorrow", and figuring out the ethics of being "Alone".

Frog is taller, with a green shade, and is more friendly and relaxed than Toad; Toad is shorter and stout, with a brown shade and also the more serious and uptight of the duo. Each book seems to end with a story that shows how much Toad is dependent upon Frog's friendship.

In 2008, three of Arnold Lobel's uncolored, unpublished Frog and Toad books were discovered in an estate sale. They were consolidated into two books and colored by Lobel's daughter Adrianne Lobel; these books appear to be very different from the original set.