Natterjack Toad Makes a Mighty Crunch

by Sean Taylor, Kathryn Durst (Illustrator)

Overview

Will Natterjack Toad ever get to eat his delicious cookies? Or will he become a snack himself?

It’s a perfect day. The sky is blue, the water is sparkling, and Natterjack Toad has a packet of his most-favorite snack: delicious chocolate-chunk crunchy-munch cookies. He can’t wait to dig in. But not so fast! A lanky heron is intruding on his hidey-hole! Natterjack Toad is off, quickety-whip. But every time he tries to eat his cookies, there’s someone in the way—someone on the lookout for a (toady) snack themselves. Kathryn Durst’s comedic illustrations and Sean Taylor’s text, begging to be read aloud, combine for a hilarious, utterly delectable picture book perfect for snack time or anytime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536249897
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/18/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sean Taylor has written more than forty books for young readers, including I Want to Be in a Scary Story, How to Be Cooler than Cool, and Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise, all illustrated by Jean Jullien; A Brave Bear, illustrated by Emily Hughes; and The Dream Train, illustrated by Anuska Allepuz. He lives in Bristol with his wife and two sons.

Kathryn Durst is the illustrator of Hey Grandude! and Grandude’s Green Submarine by Paul McCartney, You’re in Good Paws by Maureen Fergus, and more. She lives in Canada with a grumpy mini dachshund named Chili Dog.

ABOUT ME
I grew up in the south of England and went to school in London. I went travelling from my early teens and, when I left school, made a journey to Zimbabwe. I spent nearly a year there, teaching in a rural secondary school. Then I went to Cambridge University and studied English Literature for three years. After that I lived in London and zigzagged through different jobs including work at a publisher, writing for newspapers, teaching adults to read and write, and being the Literature Development Worker for East London. In the early 1990’s I met my wife, who is from Brazil. We have two sons and spend our lives partly in the UK and partly in Brazil. Writing is a good job for someone who loves moving around. (Or maybe moving around is a good lifestyle for someone who loves writing!)

ABOUT MY WORK
Most of my earliest work was poetry for adults. This took me into schools to run poetry workshops. I enjoyed doing that so much that I began to write for (and about) the children I was teaching. I have now written over 40 books for young readers. These include picture books such as The World Champion of Staying Awake, BOING!, the multiple-award-winning When a Monster is Born and Crocodiles are the Best Animals of All (which was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.) For 8-10 year olds I have written the comic Purple Class books (also shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize) and a collection of folktales from the Amazon called The Great Snake. And in 2012 I published A Waste of Good Paper, a novel for teenagers.

THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME
I listen to music when I write. Usually music that is good to dance to.
Because of my connections with Brazil, I spend some of the time thinking in Portuguese.
Once, during carnival in Brazil, I dressed up as Robin Hood and fired arrows with poems on into the crowd. I have also dressed up as John Lennon, a punk, a businessman in a pinstriped suit, a caveman and a crocodile…

Editorial Reviews

At turns both lyrical and silly, this read-aloud, originally published in the U.K., is a delight.
—Kirkus Reviews

Concluding with an eleventh hour escape and sharing with new friends, Natterjack Toad is likely to provide a dose of entertainment and a solid read-aloud addition to youth collections everywhere.
—School Library Journal

Loud colors, inflated shapes, and animated details heighten the silliness of this action-packed story full of snacks and predators.
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

2024-11-09
A toad desperately wants to munch on some cookies, but lurking predators keep foiling his plans.

Natterjack Toad, clad in pinstriped shorts with a picnic basket swinging on his arm, is off to find the perfect place to eat his favorite snack: “CHOCOLATE-CHUNK CRUNCHY-MUNCH COOKIES.” They are delicious and have a satisfyingly mighty crunch. He finds a spot near the lake and snuggles into a hammock before reaching for a cookie. Paneled illustrations ramp up the suspense as he slowly lifts the treat to his lips, frame by frame. But suddenly he notices a nearby heron. Natterjack Toad can’t make any noise, or he’ll end up as the heron’s lunch. He slips away, “quickety-whip.” Alas, Natterjack Toad can’t find the perfect spot; predators lurk everywhere he goes. Finally, against the warnings of a frightened mole and vole, Toad, unable to take it anymore, bites into his treat, making a big CRUNCH. A comically large hog lumbers out of the forest; it’s now her turn for a snack. The slapstick switcheroo finale is sure to elicit giggles—and sighs of relief. Three insect pals (a firefly, a dragonfly, and a beret-wearing worm) are fun to spot on the pages as the drama unfolds. At turns both lyrical and silly, this read-aloud, originally published in the U.K., is a delight.

A humorous look at impulse control.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews