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Toad Rage Hardcover – April 27, 2004
This is the epic story of a slightly squashed young cane toad’s quest for the truth.
- Reading age8 - 12 years
- Print length176 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level3 - 7
- Dimensions5.88 x 0.69 x 8.56 inches
- PublisherRandom House Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateApril 27, 2004
- ISBN-100375827625
- ISBN-13978-0375827624
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From the Inside Flap
This is the epic story of a slightly squashed young cane toad?s quest for the truth.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“Uncle Bart,” said Limpy. “Why do humans hate us?”
Uncle Bart looked down at Limpy and smiled fondly.
“Stack me, Limpy,” he chuckled, “you are an idiot.”
Limpy felt his warts prickle with indignation as Uncle Bart hopped onto the road after a bull ant.
No wonder I’ve never heard any other cane toad ask that question, thought Limpy, if that’s the reply you get.
Limpy was glad the grass at the edge of the highway was taller than he was. At least the millions of insects flying around the railway crossing light couldn’t see who Uncle Bart was calling an idiot.
“Humans don’t hate us,” Uncle Bart was saying, his mouth full of bull ant and grasshopper. “What are you on about? Stack me, some of the dopey ideas you youngsters come up with…”
Limpy waited patiently for Uncle Bart to finish. Uncle Bart was his fattest uncle, and his bossiest. When Uncle Bart had a point to make, he liked to keep on making it until you gave in and looked convinced.
Tonight, though, Limpy didn’t give in.
He didn’t have to. When Uncle Bart was getting his mucus in a knot about how humans definitely didn’t hate cane toads, a truck came roaring round the corner in a blaze of lights, straightened up, rumbled through the railway crossing, swerved across the road straight at Uncle Bart, and drove over him.
Limpy trembled in the grass while the truck thundered past in a cloud of diesel fumes and flying grit. Then he hopped onto the road and looked down at what was left of Uncle Bart.
The light overhead was very bright because it had a whole railway crossing to illuminate, and Limpy was able to see very clearly that Uncle Bart wasn’t his fattest uncle anymore.
Flattest, more like, he thought sadly.
“See,” he said quietly to Uncle Bart. “That’s what I’m on about.”
“Har har har,” chortled a nearby grasshopper. “Your uncle’s a place mat. Serves him right.”
Limpy ignored the grasshopper and turned to watch the truck speeding away into the darkness. From the movement of its taillights he could tell it was weaving from side to side. Each time it weaved, he heard the distant “pop” of another relative being run over.
“Yay,” shouted the grasshopper. “More place mats.”
Limpy sighed.
He decided not to eat the grasshopper. Mum was always warning him he’d get a bellyache if he ate when he was upset or angry.
To take his mind off Uncle Bart, Limpy crossed the road to have a look at Uncle Roly.
Uncle Roly was extremely flat too, but at least he was smiling.
Which is what you’d expect, thought Limpy sadly, from your kindest uncle, even when he has been dead for two nights.
Limpy reached forward and gently prodded Uncle Roly. He was dry and stiff. The hot Queensland sun had done its job.
Limpy remembered how Uncle Roly had never been dry and stiff when he was alive. He’d always had a warm smile for everyone, even the family of holidaymakers two evenings ago who’d purposely aimed their car straight for him down the wrong side of the road.
“Oh, Uncle Roly,” whispered Limpy. “Couldn’t you see the way they were looking at you?”
Limpy shuddered as he remembered the scary expressions on the holidaymakers’ faces. It was exactly the same look of hatred that had been on the face of the truck driver who’d tried to kill Limpy when he was little.
I was lucky, thought Limpy sadly. When it happened to me, I’d only just finished being a tadpole. I had a pair of brand-new legs and I could hop almost completely out of the way. I only got one leg a bit squashed. Poor old Uncle Roly was completely flat before he knew what hit him.
Limpy felt his crook leg start to ache, as it often did when he was sad and stressed. He gazed down at Uncle Roly’s very wide smile and felt his throat sac start to wobble.
Why?
Why would a carload of humans purposely kill an uncle who had such a good heart that he was still smiling two nights after being run over by a station wagon and a caravan?
I don’t get it, thought Limpy. I can understand why grasshoppers and other insects don’t like us. It’s because we eat them. But we don’t eat humans. We cant even fit them into our mouths. So why do they hate us?
Limpy felt his warts tingle with determination.
One day, he thought, I’ll go to a human place and find out why and try to do something about it, even if I end up dry and stiff and flat myself.
The thought made him feel weak and sick.
“Time to go home, Uncle Roly,” he said.
Limpy picked Uncle Roly up, heaved him onto his shoulders, and hopped slowly back across the road to Uncle Bart.
“Bye, Uncle Bart,” said Limpy to the damp layer of pressed skin and flat warts on the tarmac. “I’ll be back for you when you’ve dried out.”
He wondered if he’d find the courage to visit the humans before he saw Uncle Bart again.
I need to get braver, he thought. But how?
“Rack off, place mat,” yelled the grasshopper.
Ignoring all thoughts of bellyache, Limpy ate him.
Practice, thought Limpy as he chewed, that’s how.
Chapter 2
“Oh no, Limpy,” said Mum in exasperation. “You haven’t brought home another dead relative.”
Limpy was too puffed to answer. Although the swamp where he lived wasn’t very far from the highway, it was still a long haul for a skinny toad with a crook leg and a dried uncle on his back.
“Well, just don’t leave him lying around in your room, said Mum. “That room’s a pigsty. I’m sick of tidying up dead relatives in there.”
“Mum,” said Limpy. “Uncle Roly’s your brother. Don’t you care that he’s been run over?”
Mum gave a big sign and leaned against the leaf she’d been preparing dinner on. She put down to ants she’d been stuffing slugs with and closed her eyes.
When she opened them, Limpy could see her throad sac was trembling.
“Oh, Limpy,” she said quietly. “Of course I care. But I’ve got hundreds of brothers and sisters. If I let myself get upset every time one of them’s run over, I’ll be a nervous wreck.”
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Product details
- Publisher : Random House Books for Young Readers; 1st American edition (April 27, 2004)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0375827625
- ISBN-13 : 978-0375827624
- Reading age : 8 - 12 years
- Grade level : 3 - 7
- Item Weight : 10.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.88 x 0.69 x 8.56 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,565,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,237 in Children's Frog & Toad Books
- #37,190 in Children's Humor
- #56,290 in Children's Action & Adventure Books (Books)
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Kids 8-12, I think, would naturally enjoy this book, but they need to be a tad tough-minded. The Toad of the title is a spunky and sympathetic character, who remains optimistic about finding good in the world, despite the fact that every driver he meets goes out of his way to attempt to squash him. He's on a quest to get humans to be nicer to his kind, a scaley Don Quixote, a creature of strong convictions and high ideals. It's an exciting road trip across Australia for the plucky little guy, and you will root for him and laugh all the way. BTW a glossary of Aussie words will assist US readers and add to the fun of exploring the exciting world of Down Under.
Toad Rage is about a cane toad named Limpy, that lives by a highway in Australia. When Limpy was a baby toad a big truck almost ran him over, but luckily the truck only ran over his foot. Ever since then, when Limpy hops too fast he starts hopping in circles. Limpy thinks that humans must hate cane toads, because almost every day Limpy peels another dead relative on the road and adds them to the stack of dead relatives in his room. The rest of his family doesn't think that humans hate cane toads, and that they just don't see them in the road. Limpy decides to set off on a quest, to ask the humans why they hate cane toads, and to find out how the humans could possibly like cane toads better. His first stop is a gas station. When limpy arrives at the gas station days later, he sees humans, lots of humans. Limpy isn't prepared to face so many humans, so as quick as his legs could carry him, he hopped to the nearest hiding place, which just so happened to be a pair of underpants. Soon enough a human discovered that Limpy was in his undies and started running right towards him. Limpy hopped away and soon ended up on the front of a truck. Throughout Limpy's travels he finds his cousin Goliath, who he thought was dead, gets chased by teenagers, gets somewhat saved by agirl, stays in the back of a truck for a few days, and stays with a young girl. Limpy thinks that if he becomes a games mascot, the humans will like him better. Will Limpy find out why humans hate his kind? Will canes toads be the new games mascot? Will they ever find their way home? Read the book to find out!
I loved this book because it took place in Australia, the author even used Australian words and phrases, like Squiz, Duco, & Stack me. There was even a glossary in the back for all the words you probably don't know unless you live in Australia. Also I loved the twisted sense of humor that was used in this book. Some of the things like " I'll do a wee in the water to cool it down" and "You haven't brought home another dead relative." The author spun a sad yet exciting tale of two toads on a quest to restore peace. This book opened a world of what the animal really might think about us humans, and how horrible we really can be.
On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this book a 10!! It was well written, and a good book altogether. The author made it realistic and funny for all ages. The second book, Toad Heaven, was just as good as the first. Still funny and well written. The third book, Toad Away, was not as good though because it was just less enjoyable. Anyone who wants to know a little about Australia, and likes animal books will like this book. Also by Morris Gleitzman- Toad Heaven, Toad Away, Toad Surprise, Worm Story, Teachers Pet, Once, and many many more!
Julia