The Toad Sleeps Over

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

One quiet evening at the home of a family of field mice there is a knock
at the door. “That must be my friend, Tony the Toad!” the young
field mouse joyously shouts, “He’s staying overnight.”

From the very beginning, stuffy old father field mouse has misgivings
about his son having a non-mouse friend. His doubts quickly turn into
solid reasons as Tony cracks the ceiling with his jumping and fills a
harmonica so that it makes slime bubbles when the young mouse plays it.
Father field mouse is about to send Tony the Toad home when he discovers
both youngsters have wandered off and a coyote is on their trail.

Father mouse finds them just as the coyote moves in for a meal. The
young mouse is helpless, but Tony, using his natural defences, inflates
his skin and secretes venomous slime and scares off the coyote. The
children are saved and father field mouse suddenly realizes that being
different can have its advantages.

As with all of John Bianchi’s solo efforts, the illustrations in this
book are so droll they almost eclipse the prose and story line. Bianchi
is a fine writer, but he might have to farm out his work to a
less-talented illustrator than himself for everyone to realize it.
Highly recommended.