6This is a story with important messages about listening to others, communicating well and the positive impact that one family can have in a community.

Read along and allow the story to start conversation in your family about ways that each of you can listen better, places in your town that could use some help and communicating well. In this fun tale, told with the use of rhythm and rhyme, we follow along the conversation between a mother and her son over the way they will handle an intruding toad. Mom, who is trying to listen well, has been startled and is a little grossed out by the toad that was mixed in with the weeds that she was trying to throw out. Her son has to decide if he will talk to his mom about caring for the toad; even if he is nervous and would rather not... As the story unfolds, take some time to talk about what you think he should do.