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Description

In this time of war, Arnold Lobel’s story “Dragons and Giants,” from Frog and Toad Together, lights up especially bright. Societies all over the world show children images of martial bravery–knights and giants—and then, at about age 18, draft them into the military to act out those ideals. In “The Dream,” from the same collection, Toad dreams that a voice keeps building him up as he performs on a stage, saying things like, “The greatest Toad will now dance, and he will be wonderful!” Our great privilege, as adults talking seriously with children, is that we can help them notice the ways they are being urged and jollied along into systems that are not friendly to them. Lobel’s stories provide an opening to discuss assumptions and alternatives by hinting at a dimension of freedom too frequently foreclosed: I don’t have to strive to be brave, I don’t have to excel. Both of these are—my choice.

Publication Date

2026

Publisher

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children

City

Montclair

Keywords

bravery, fear, freedom, excellence, indoctrination, war

Disciplines

Education | Philosophy

Dragons and Giants and The Dream from <em>Frog and Toad Together</em> (1971) by Arnold Lobel

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