At this time of year, we’d like to stop and say thank you to all the visitors we’ve had, and to those who’ve joined our cause.
While you’re shopping for loved ones in the next week or so, we hope you’ll remember all the great organizations that need your help in this challenging economic climate.
Continuing the theme of frog gifts, I received a wonderful gift from Susan—the children’s book The Frogs and Toads All Sang, by Arnold Lobel with color by Adrianne Lobel (HarperCollins, 2009):
This little book of rhymes has the same droll and slightly absurd humor of the classic Frog and Toad books. Originally handmade by Arnold Lobel as a gift for a friend, this was the first book he wrote about frogs and toads. His daughter Adrianne writes that these “private sketches, not meant for anyone’s eyes but those of friends, have a confidence and liveliness that anticipates his mature work in books such as the Frog and Toad series…”
Here’s an illustration from the book:
Andrianne Lobel, a stage designer by profession, colored each sketch using watercolors and dyes. I love the drawings and the vibrant watercolors. I like the poems too:
Bright Green Frog
A bright green frog
With slippery skin
Played waltzes
On a violin.
But while he played
With skill and grace,
He wore a frown
Upon his face.
“I fiddle well.”
He sighed.
“And yet…
I’d rather play
The clarinet.”
If you don’t have copies of the original Frog and Toad books, this boxed set contains Frog and Toad All Year, Frog and Toad Are Friends, and Frog and Toad Together.
Of course, you can also get carried away and buy the plush characters, too. I’m not sure I can resist buying the plush versions of my old friends Frog and Toad:
The holidays are upon us, and we wanted to highlight some of our favorite froggy gifts.
Frog calendar
A portion of the proceeds of this calendar go to the World Wildlife Fund.
For baby
From Angel Dear, a curved frog pillow for baby. You have to feel this pillow to believe it-—it’s incredibly soft. I found this in a little boutique and I liked it so much I bought one even though I don’t know anyone who is having a baby anytime soon!
The pillow is machine washable with a removable cover.
14″ square, cashmere-soft, machine washable frog blankie
Adopt a Frog
Adopt a frog from the World Wildlife Fund. For $25, your gift recipient will receive an adoption certificate, species information card, and photo. For $50, they’ll receive a bucket of frogs, an adoption certificate, species information card, photo, and gift bag.
Children’s Books
Big Frog Can’t Fit In by Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2009)
Big Frog is big. Quite big. So big this book can’t hold her. But with a lot of help from some good friends, Big Frog will fit in just fine.
Filled with unique sturdy pop-ups, and suitable for little hands, this new pop-up book will appeal to Mo Willems fans old and new.
Books for adults
The Lilypad List: 7 Steps to the Simple Life by Marian Van Eyk McCain
During the holiday season, especially, we need to be reminded about what is truly important in our lives. McCain uses frogs as a metaphor for living a simple but meaningful life. She writes, “Looking back, I think frogs have always been around calling to me to notice them. I am glad I am noticing them now and listening to their small, quiet messages. They have lots to teach me.”
Most of us know we need to simplify our lives, slow down, buy less stuff, and live more lightly on the Earth. But McCain, a psychotherapist, helps us to understand why we feel we need to acccumulate so much stuff. Each chapter opens with a charming drawing of a frog.
Frog T-Shirts
Show your love of amphibians by wearing this fun t-shirt from FROGS ARE GREEN. A portion of the profits go toward supporting Amphibian Ark and other amphibian conservation organizations. The rest of the profits will go toward creating programs and educational materials to support our cause.
Stocking stuffers
Wear the GREEN! The FROGS ARE GREEN wristband, that is!
When my sons were young, I loved to give them Dover’s inexpensive little activity books ($1.50 each). Here is one–a stained glass frog coloring book. Note: although the link below is to Amazon, it can also be bought directly from Dover Publications.
Ecowear – Frog Pendant from Future Oxygen. This company offers 100 % biodegradable cards and lovely Frog pendants. Both the cards and pendants can be planted into the ground (the pendant contains flower and grass seeds). For every pendant sold they will donate $1 to benefit the Save the Reef campaign.
Holiday Sleeper Gift
The Calls of Frogs and Toads (with CD) by Lang Elliott
One Christmas, I gave my husband a book of bird calls–you find the bird in the book, press a button, and hear the bird’s call. He was a little underwhelmed by this gift! But over the years, we’ve used that book so many times. (It really captured our cats’ interest, too!). So in that spirit, I offer this frog call book as a sleeper holiday gift. Maybe on Christmas day after you’re tired of listening to holiday music, you can listen to great frog choruses instead!
We have a lot to be grateful for at FROGS ARE GREEN. We’ve received over 10,000 visitors since we started the blog back in May. We are so grateful for your comments and for your participation in our blog.
As a token of our thanks, Susan designed a poster of our mascot, the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, that you can download and print out for FREE (in three different sizes). We hope you enjoy it and will put up a copy at your home, school, or office to spread the message about our amphibian friends.
Happy Holidays!
Don’t forget to check our galleries of our photo contest photos, wonderful frog art from kids, and photos of wild backyards! (Click on the pictures in the right column of the blog. Feel free to send us your pictures to be included, too!)
Click here and it will take you to the download page.
