A short life of the author
Arnold Lobel (1933–1987) was born in Los Angeles on 22 May 1933 and grew up in Schenectady, New York. He studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He illustrated over one hundred books and wrote dozens of his own.
Life and Career
Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970) — the first of four books about the friendship between an optimistic Frog and a melancholy Toad — won a Caldecott Honor. These are I Can Read books: designed for beginning readers, with simple vocabulary and short chapters. But they are also works of genuine literary art. The friendship between Frog and Toad — affectionate, patient, sometimes exasperated — is rendered with an emotional truth that transcends the intended age group.
Frog and Toad Together (1972) won a Newbery Honor. Frog and Toad All Year (1976) and Days with Frog and Toad (1979) completed the series.
Fables (1980) — a collection of original animal fables with moral lessons — won the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations.
Major Works and Themes
Lobel wrote and illustrated stories about friendship, fear, patience, and the small dramas of daily life. His illustrations — warm, detailed watercolours and pen drawings — are perfectly integrated with his prose. The Frog and Toad books have been read as an allegory of a gay relationship, an interpretation Lobel’s daughter has confirmed reflects her father’s life.
Key Works
- Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970)
- Fables (1980) — Caldecott Medal
Collecting Lobel
Frog and Toad Are Friends first edition (Harper & Row, 1970) in fine condition brings $200–$500. Fables (Harper & Row, 1980) brings $50–$100. Lobel died in 1987.