Frogs

I like frogs – nearly as much as I do cows and a few other animals, insects and bugs.

When I was younger, completely out of character, a friend and I collected a whole lot of little rain frogs and put them into a teacher’s bedroom whilst on a school trip to a game reserve. She wasn’t very happy as they weren’t her favourite creature but for some reason we were forgiven our little misdemenour. Perhaps it was on condition we caught and removed them all before she got back from dinner.

What I didn’t realise until recently, though, is that a group of frogs is called an ‘army’. In an obscure way that makes sense: we assume frogs are green which is fitting for the military camouflage colour… Other words for the group include ‘chorus’ and ‘colony’. However, a group of toads, which are not as adorable as frogs but have their own appeal, are called a ‘knot’.

Frogs make perfect characters for children’s books:

Oi Frog! by Kes Gray and Jim Field
Grumpy Frog by Ed Vere
A frog someday by Carol Pugliano-Martin
The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm

And closer to home, frogs feature in the adult short story:

Poison Lady by Josie Arden in This and That vol 2
and
Malcolm Allen’s take on golf, the French are referred to as Frogs.

Oh, and don’t forget toads:

The secret life of toads (a comedy for young actors) – DW Gregory
Frog and Toad together – Arnold Lobel
Day of the Toads – Joann Starr, Lewis Trondheim, Manu Larcenet (not for children)

Toad in the Hole features in Melville Lovatt’s plays/monologues: Accommodation (forthcoming) and Standing Alone
And Emma calls her husband an ‘obnoxious toad’ in Connie’s Lovely Boy (forthcoming), another play.

And why not look to save a frog (the day differs for each country).

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