Toad for Tuesday

Rating:
Summary: Russell Erickson's books are classics
Review: All of the Erickson books are wonderful classics, like the Pooh books, and Wind in the Willows. Reading Warton's Christmas Eve Adventure is one of my Christmas traditions. It is a great pity that that book, and most of his other books are out of print and unavailable in libraries. These books have no racial, social, or politically corrected messages. They are just humerous, charming, and thoroughly delightful!

Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I'm on a mission to collect all of the Warton & Morton books. When I was growing up, I had all of them, first on tape, and later in print. I wore out the whole series listening to and reading them so much. They're very entertaining and wholesome stories that are captivating to young minds. I can't wait to read them to my daughter when she gets a little older.

Rating:
Summary: It was a TOADALLY good book
Review: Our third grade class really enjoyed this book especially how Warton and George became friends at the end. It taught us a lot about friendship. Parts of it were even funny. We all ate peanut brittle and pretended it was beetle brittle.

Rating:
Summary: A great read aloud book!
Review: This book and all the others by Erickson about Warton and his brother Morton were favourites at our house when my children were young. I read them out loud many times. Good conversation, delightful story with a hint of danger, and a happy ending.

Read all the Warton and Morton books - they're great!

Rating:
Summary: A great read aloud book!
Review: This book and all the others by Erickson about Warton and his brother Morton were favourites at our house when my children were young. I read them out loud many times. Good conversation, delightful story with a hint of danger, and a happy ending.

Read all the Warton and Morton books - they're great!

Rating:
Summary: Wit and kindness save the day!
Review: This is such a sweet, gentle, loving little book.

It's about two brother toads, Morton and Warton, one very stodgy, and the other more of an adventurer. Warton, the braver brother, decides to go out into the snow (toads are supposed to hibernate in winter) to visit his aunt. Almost instantly he is plucked up by an owl who wants to eat him, but decides to save him for a week, to have as a special treat on his birthday. It turns out the owl is lonely and friendless and little by little he is won over by Warton's conversation and small acts of kindness.

On television and in movies, and even in many books, children are constantly exposed to the idea that violence is the solution to almost every problem. I love the fact that in this work, intelligence, kindness, and compassion solve Warton's dilemma.

If you have a child who is just developing enough of an attention span to sit through a chapter book, it's hard to beat this little gem. It's very short, for one thing -- under seventy pages -- which makes it great for restless five or six year olds. And it has just enough danger in it to have small children on the edge of their seats without being too scary. It's cute and funny, and it's message is a great blessing.

It also has lots of sequels, which is a big plus when you're trying to get kids interested in reading more. Unfortunately most of the other Warton and Morton books are out of print, but any reasonable library should have them.