Night of the Spadefoot Toads

by Bill Harley

An inspiring story of intergenerational friendship, activism, and how our actions can drastically impact our environment.

When his father takes a new job in Massachusetts, Ben Moroney must leave behind his best friend Tony, a western banded gecko named Lenny, and worst of all, the Arizona desert home he has loved and explored. Ben's adjustment to his new environment is not going well until he unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in his eccentric fifth-grade science teacher, Mrs. Tibbets. She introduces him to the rare and elusive Eastern spadefoot toads that make their home on her rural property.

When Ben discovers that Mrs. Tibbets's land may be sold to developers, he knows he has to do something. As Ben's obsession with saving the spadefoot toads' habitat grows, his schoolwork and his relationships with his family and new friends suffer. But just when it seems things can't get any worse, Ben finds a way to meet his responsibilities to the people around him and demonstrates the importance of even the smallest efforts to save the earth's rapidly disappearing habitats.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, Environment, Chapter Books

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

A two-time Grammy award-winning artist and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RI Council for the Humanities, Bill uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of growing up, schooling and family life. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Bill tours nationwide as an author, performing artist and keynote speaker.

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: this is my 10 year old daughters review.

“It was about frogs and stuff and it was cool and I liked it. Mostly everyone was funny or nice, except one kid who was a bully (that Frankie dude). People don’t know that it’s a cool book. I wish there were more descriptions on how they looked like. And it’s a cool book, because it’s cool, no expectations.”

[Mollie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this before and loved it!

[Patricia Kemp Blackmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben is having a hard time adjusting to the move from Tucson, Arizona to Edenboro, Massachusetts. He misses his best friend and the pet lizard he left with his friend. On top of that some of his treasured things he had carefully packed away for transport did not make it to his new home. Yep, it was lost in transport. So Ben is not a happy camper!

Ben has been attending his new school for about two months and still hasn't made any real friends. Plus there is an annoying loud mouth bully that he tries real hard to stay out of that guys radar.

His geography teacher has given the class a project to do about habitats and he has chosen Arizona because he knows all about the different habitats and creatures in the Tucson area deserts.

His science teacher, Mrs Tibbets turns out to be pretty cool for a really old teacher. Come to find out she is very interested in nature especially that of the wooded area between her house and Ben's house. She hired been to do some yard work for her and afterwards they explored the woods behind her house. She told him of one special place in particular and that was a vernal pond where an endangered species called the spadefoot toads came to lay and fertilize their eggs. This is the only time they came out from underground. A very rare occurrence. The only problem is she is being forced to sell her property which will result in destroying the habit of not only the spadefoot toads but that of many other creatures.

Can Ben do anything to stop this destruction? After all he is only a fifth grader. What will happen to the spadefoot toads? It's not like they can pack up and move somewhere else.

It is so refreshing reading about this little guy that has so much passion about saving this habitat. The author is not just an amazing story teller he has written a tale about a legitimate cause. Have you every really looked into how many creatures are ending up on the endangered species list? It is so sad!

So kudos to the author for bringing this to the attention of our children in this wonderful story about Ben, Mrs. Tibbets and the Night of the Spadefoot Toads. The author provides many references on his website to follow up on after reading this book.


You can visit Bill Harley’s website here.

Resources for Toad Lovers and Vernal Pool Savers:
http://www.billharley.com/NightoftheS...


I highly recommend this book to Educators, Teachers, Librarians, Parents and Children of all ages.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I received a free copy of this book from Peachtree Publishers for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. It is my own opinion.

[Sandy Sopko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about so many good topics for young readers -- fitting in as a new kid, relating to adults, dealing with change (feeling homesick after a move), kindness, honesty, integrity... but also a great science story about endangered spadefoot toads. All kinds of great conflict. I loved the science connections -- young readers who are budding environmentalists will find this book inspiring!

[Ryan M. Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed me about halfway in and I ended up really liking it. I think my students will like it, too. My school district added this to the required reading curriculum, so I am glad I can say I enjoyed it.

[Zosia Parkulab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cool and I loved the part at the end when Mrs Tibbets said "Omigosh" to Ben after she saw the rattle snake and was surprised that they survived by not being in they're new habitat. Awesome!

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students loved this book. I just wish it had been better edited.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks in my classroom learning about ecosystems in science. When I learned that most of my kids were already familiar with Hatchet (the story we were supposed to read this week according to our reading book) because one of the fourth grade teachers read it to them last year, I did a quick pivot.

This book came from an old reading series, and one of the other fifth grade teachers kept a set even though we are always told to get rid of everything any time the district buys a new textbook series. So we decided to read this in the place of Hatchet.

It’s a story about a boy who moves from Arizona to Massachusetts. Talk about a culture shock! He hates it, of course, but as you would guess, all the things that could possibly happen to a fifth grade boy happen… including learning to adapt.

This book aligns really well with the concept of ecosystems, and it gave the kids a jumping point for some research of their own. I’m looking forward to their research presentations that they’ve been working on! They aren’t about vernal pools, but they are about frogs.

And spadefoot toads? Well, we’ll see if any of them found information naming New Mexico’s official state amphibian… 😏

We’ll finish reading this on Friday. What should we read next?

[Heather O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben and his family have moved from Arizona to Massachusetts. Ben doesn't have any friends at his new school and feels like an outcast. Ben befriends his teacher Mrs. Tibbets, who tells him about a vernal pool on her property where Spadefoot Toads come to breed. Ben is fascinated by this and tries to do all that he can to save the land when he learns that Mrs. Tibbets' sister-in-law wants to sell the land to developers.

I read this book to my son (age 9) for part of his schooling. Him (and my other son when he was listening) enjoyed this story. It's about a boy that is around his age that is into nature and animals, which was a big selling point for him. Last year we had watched a movie that had a section about a vernal pool and salamanders that go there to breed, so I found the part about the vernal pools interesting because I actually knew what the author was talking about. We did have to read this book in sections and analyze the heck out of it, which always makes reading not as fun IMHO.

I would give it 3.5 stars

[Jessica Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
This book is about a boy named Ben who moves to a new area and school and has some trouble finding his place. He befriends his teacher and winds up on a quest to get a parcel of land protected because a species of frog that lives there would be endangered if the land was developed. Ben overcomes many obstacles throughout the course of the book and learns to love his new home, the people, and the wildlife in it.

Reviews:
This book was a sweet coming of age story about growing up and embracing change. Ben's trials and tribulations definitely resonate with the reader. It teaches a lesson about overcoming obstacles and persevering. Many people can relate to being in a new situation, moving to a new place, or dealing with adversity at school.

[Gracie Simundson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses a couple different topics/ themes for the classroom throughout that book. The main character in the book moves and goes to a new school so it address the importance of being kind to new students and the emotions that kids have when moving to a new school. This is also a great way to incorporate science and the study of ecosystems because the story plot deals with saving the spadefoot toads and their natural habits. The story is something that all students can relate to and the main characters are relatable as well. I think this would be a great book to teach students about theme's with this authors message and to see how students can make a difference in their own community. I highly recommend this book and really enjoyed it.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because it was part of the ReadyGen 5th grade curriculum. I liked all the information about toads, vernal pools, ecology, and habitats. I think the pacing was unsteady and the plot was very predictable. I did not like that a teacher spent time alone with a student, because in today’s climate that would be frowned upon and against District policy. I also thought it was unwise for an adult to “confide” in an elementary student. Both of these actions show lack of judgement and made me not a fan of this book.

[Angelic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night of the spade-foot toads was a good book and I loved how Ben and his teacher became friends it was amazing! I wish I knew a lot about frogs and toads and other reptiles too! If possible, the author should make a second book with a new situation like a new student that knows about sea-creatures tries to become friends with Ben's friends, but Ben gets left out or something like that. I don't know, but I'd love something like that!

[I.A.M. Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This portrayed the burgeoning empathy of a preteen boy so well. The ending was satisfying, though I'd like to know more about the sister-in-law character. The message would really have been driven home by humanizing her with context of her grief and the reasons behind her choices. Please add a follow-up epilogue! My 10-year-old girl has a bleeding heart for frogs, so this hit home beautifully for her, and has fueled her environmentalism. Thank you.

[Natalie Trouten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book as a read-aloud for my 5th-graders, and honestly it was a little boring. It began very slowly, and the characters were predictable, and a little unrealistic. Parts were a little preachy, but the ending was satisfying, if a little rushed. After watching a dynamic presentation by the author when he visited our school, I was a little disappointed in this book.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night of the spadefoot toads is an ok book. It has a fine plot, lovable characters etc. The only real problem with the story is characters show up without any warning. For example, in many chapters, characters randomly appear in scenes (without mention), they were not in, resulting in confusion on the readers part.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a boy and an old women who form a tight relationship. I personally can’t recommend it. I was required to read it for school, and it wasn’t my favorite book at all. I understand this is a lot of peoples ‘favorite’ book and the plot is just awesome. It was very heartfelt and sweet, But it just wasn’t my forte.

[Thomas C.Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a simple reading that reminds all readers of the hardships with moving to another area and meeting new people.

I enjoyed the author's use to imagery to paint vivid images in the reader's mind as well as the character growth that could be seen throughout the book.

[Leslie Lewallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book was assigned to my 5th grader. It’s age-appropriate. Fun environmental lesson woven through the strands of moving, meeting new friend, family dynamics and learning how to “adapt” to new surroundings.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my fifth grade class as a part of our narrative unit. This was a better mentor text than some others I've used because Ben is a lot like several of my students. The novel also introduces science topics, including ecosystems, biomes, and conservation of natural resources.

[Traci Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this along with the 5th grade class that I help. There was some great character development and some strong writing; I just felt bored through most of the book. I probably would not have read very far if it weren’t an assignment for the class.

[Hrick Sengupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, it talked about how the main character loves nature and reminiscing about his old area where he used to live but learns to live in a new area and learns about nature surrounding this new area.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Environmentalism, moving, school story, teacher/student relationships, bullying, lying

The third person present POV felt forced at times, and it moved somewhat slowly. Not my fav bob book

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ready Gen 5th grade read. Very interesting book about sadness of moving, a passion for reptiles, and standing up for what is right.

[Angela Keene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring
I really think the book is boring and uninteresting. I keep reading the book only to fin find somethings good. Then again, my opinion.

[Jaidin]

good book

[Ashlinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my 5th grade class and they loved it! So many good elements to the story to teach about.

[Karen Cluff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entire class loved this book. Kept them engaged! They loved learning about the frogs and toads and vernal pools.

[Citlally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was okay

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was terrible