The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad

The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad is another amazing and charming children’s story from the master of the genre of fable, Thornton W. Burgess. First published in 1916, the story enjoys continued success ever since – generations grew up following the old toad and keeping their fingers crossed for the tiny creatures living in the Green Meadow.The story starts with an event that stirs up the peace of the Meadow: Old Mr. Toad is seen hurrying somewhere and hurrying is something that he does only when there is some sort of great danger around. The word quickly spreads among the inhabitants of the forest and the bravest ones, including Unc’ Billy Possum, Jimmy Skunk and Peter Cottontail start following the toad to see what he is up to. It turns out that Mr. Toad has a very important meeting to attend – he is planning to join the Spring Choir. All the animals are outraged by the idea, but they are all in for a major surprise.Adventure, suspense, excitement and surprising twists make this story exciting, but as usual, there is much more to this Burgess fable than an eventful plot. The story is made even more complex by the extraordinary characters in it and the moral conclusion: never think that you can get to know someone completely, no matter how long you may have known that person. The story also gives readers a lesson about how harmful vanity can be in a friendship, teaching kids about the importance of honesty and a humble attitude. This cute and entertaining story is an excellent choice if you want to teach your kids about the animal world as well – the characterization of the toad as well as the characters assigned to the other animals are detailed and true to how these creatures behave in nature.