Stories by children’s book author-illustrator Jashar Awan pop right off the shelf and into the playful part of your heart, especially if you’re partial to the color yellow and adorable characters. (Me, too.)
EVERY MONDAY MABEL—a delightful picture book, which received a Caldecott honor—introduced me to Awan’s work and became a fast favorite. Following that exciting accolade, Awan received a Geisel honor for TOWED BY TOAD. Then, this summer brought the arrival of his highly anticipated Toad sequel, TOAD ON THE GO (Tundra Books). Here’s a summary of the story:
Hop back on the road with Toad! In this fun-fueled follow-up to the Geisel Honor award-winning picture book Towed by Toad, Toad discovers that everyone makes mistakes, even tow truck drivers!
Little ones. Big ones. Everyone makes mistakes… even Toad! Toad and his tow truck are on the go, racing to the rescue of anyone who needs help. Toad always obeys the rules and NEVER makes mistakes. He waits patiently for the green light. Wait for it… wait for it… GO! … Uh oh. What happens when Toad does make a mistake?
TOAD ON THE GO brings readers back into the orbit of beloved Toad, where they will find an expanded cast of characters and a new problem to solve. How did the sequel come to be? I just barely missed the chance to ask Jashar Awan in person at ALA in Chicago—a big regret from the weekend! But luckily, I was able to learn more about his approach to Toad’s latest adventure right here, on the blog. Come along as we go… Behind the Book!
How did this story come to you?
Tundra asked for a second TOAD book, which was very exciting! This was the first time I got to return to a character. I re-read a bunch of classic follow-up books (like Madeline's Rescue and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, for example) to see how other authors handled this challenge. Fortunately, the concept of a tow-trucking driving toad has a storytelling engine built-in to it—something's gotta to happen to Toad while he’s on a job.
I decided that this time around he’d be the one causing the accident. This scenario was a good opportunity to talk about making mistakes, taking responsibility for those mistakes, and learning to forgive yourself. Despite these heavy themes, I worked hard to keep the book a light, fun read.
How did it evolve, as it came fully into being?
Outside of Toad and Pop, I wanted to have all-new characters to give the sense of a larger world for this series. I started a list of names and vehicles and places as a warm-up—just to get some wordplay going. Slowly, I started to build a cast of characters that Toad would be rushing past in his eagerness to help.
The ending took a while to figure out. I knew where I wanted to end up, but I couldn't figure out how to get there—how was Toad going to realize that it’s okay to make mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes after all. I eventually realized Toad had to see that for himself. All the characters he passed on the road earlier would be seen making mistakes as he returned to the garage. It’s one of those moments that feels obvious when you see it, but it was something I had to figure out at the drawing board.
What influenced and inspired you, as you created this book?
While I was working on TOAD ON THE GO, there was a certain pop song that I was in heavy rotation in my house, so much so that I put a big reference to it in the book! Well, what I thought was a big reference… no one has said anything about it, yet!
No spoilers here! You’ll need to get a copy of TOAD ON THE GO and find out!
Thank you for visiting Behind the Book, Jashar! And congratulations on your incredible successes—I can’t wait for what’s next! To learn more about Jashar Awan and his work, visit www.jasharawan.com.
