This picture book tells a story of an ornery toad that lives under rocks, dense foliage, and tree stumps. The story unfolds with Toadlow being awakened from a deep slumber by one of his friends, Sneezy. His friends want him to enter into a race they are sure he can win. The race is held in a small rural town called Toad Suck. At first, he is uncertain if he even wants to try, until he hears about the prize to be given to the winner.
In her fourth book, the author, Barbara Winningham, provides children another example of overcoming life challenges using insects and animals as the main characters. As they read and look at the colorful illustrations, it becomes apparent that a solution can be found for nearly any problem. Most importantly, Toadlow gains more confidence to win directly from the encouragement and support he receives from his friends.
Children will be encouraged because even though he starts out slow, in the end, Toadlows name is announced as the winner. Oh, what a prize. Listen in as children relate what would be just as good a prize to them as a big bowl of worms was to Toadlow. Viewed as a series, this story continues in that same vein as her four published books. In The Turtle Pit, My Kitty Dog, Chatters Nut House, and The Little Little Small Small Tiny Tiny House, we see many avenues of information, guidance, and inspiration revealed to the young readers mind.
