Toad for Tuesday

Russell E. Erickson is the author of seven Warton and Morton books, originally published from 1974-1988. He is a lithographer whose other interests include photography, printing, carpentry, fishing, and puttering around in his vegetable patch and woodland garden. Among his neighbors are toads, owls, blackbirds, moles and other little creatures who populate his delightful stories. He lives in Bristol, Connecticut.Lawrence Di Fiori is the distinguished illustrator of all seven of the Warton and Morton books, more than 70 other books and countless magazine pieces.  A Fine Arts graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, his extensive works include painting, sculpture, comics, fine ink drawings, and exhibits in numerous museums. As a mentor and a scholar, he taught in art school and followed his curiosity toward beauty and aesthetics throughout his life. He died in 2022.Lawrence Di Fiori is the distinguished illustrator of all seven of the Warton and Morton books, more than 70 other books and countless magazine pieces.  A Fine Arts graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, his extensive works include painting, sculpture, comics, fine ink drawings, and exhibits in numerous museums. As a mentor and a scholar, he taught in art school and followed his curiosity toward beauty and aesthetics throughout his life. He died in 2022.

★ A small-scale Wind in the Willows, with adventure and charm.—Booklist, Starred Review★Here are these two toads, Warton and Morton. Even thoughthey're snowbound for the winter, Warton wants to take his Aunt Toolia a box of Morton's special beetle brittle, so he builds a pair of skis and starts off. In the middle of the wooded valley Warton is captured by an owl who plans to save him for a special birthday dinner, but the innately civilized Warton ingratiates himself with evening teas and much house tidying. And even when he is rescued by a platoon of skiing mice, he stops to save George, the owl, from a fox and learns that his captor had a change of heart and was out looking for some nice juniper berry tea. Erickson approaches each new adventurous turn of events with open-eyed wonder ("Warton was speechless. Never had he seen so many mice at one time, and all on skis!"), and DiFiori's careful, detailed drawings take the animals' unusual domestic situations in stride. Warton's winning ways may play havoc with the food chain, but this neat, humane toad, dressed in his rundown house slippers and enjoying Morton's tasty ant egg sandwiches, is thoroughly lovable -- and full ofsurprises. —Kirkus, Starred Review★ One winter day Warton, a toad, straps on his skis to visitan aunt who lives on the other side of the woods. But a hungry owl interruptsthe tiny toad's journey and vows to eat Warton. Can Warton convince the owl tochange his mind? A small-scale Wind in the Willows. —School Library Journal, Starred ReviewOne has grown so accustomed to grim children's books in thisgrimmest of all possible worlds that a genuinely nice children's story comes asa surprise. Gone, for a moment, are urban problems, divorce, sex, drugs, death,the ghetto—and in their place pops up the story of a toad. Warton.Warton lives deep in the ground with his brother Morton, wholoves to cook. One snowy day he sets out on a journey to take his aunt somebeetle brittle, and is pounced on by a misanthropic owl. The owl, George, dragshim home with the express purpose of eating him on Tuesday—because Tuesday ishis birthday and he wants a special treat. However, Warton's nature is soessentially cheerful, optimistic and kind—that he cannot help but makefriends with George, and soon they are having tea and sharing a few confidences.A hausfrau at heart, Warton begins to tidy up George'stree‐home and it is not long before the two bachelors are living together inthe manner of "The Odd Couple." But gloomy George insists that he is going todevour Warton, and so Warton plans an escape whose limited genius depends onmaking a rope ladder out of his sweater. Unexpectedly, he is rescued by hundredmice (on homemade skis), and in a most satisfying denouement, the villainousowl is proved to be a softy. Thereis a buoyant quality to this little book—and its spirit is so basically lovingthat it would take a sadistic reviewer to say anything unkind about it. Onecould mention, I suppose, that the black and white illustrations are a bitpedestrian and that the prose, at times, gets rather Wind‐in‐the‐Willowy. Butno matter. As a parable on friendship, “A Toad for Tuesday” will serve itsreaders any day in the week. —The New York Times: