When "Frog and Toad" books hit shelves over 50 years ago, critics couldn't have guessed they would become pop culture icons. Here's how it happened.

Frog reassures a swimsuit-shy Toad that he doesn’t look funny at all. Frog and Toad secretly plan to surprise each other. Thoughts of chores piling up make it hard for Toad to relax. Frog’s ...

But at under two hours, it's bright and beautiful for creatures great and small. A Year With Frog and Toad, music by Robert Reale, book and lyrics by Willie Reale, based on the books by Arnold Lobel.

When Frog and Toad go swimming in the pond, they each dive into a Hula-Hoop-like contraption with sequined blue fabric hanging down from it, allowing them to independently “swim” around the stage.

John-Michael Zuerlein, left, as Frog, and Reed Sigmund, as Toad, in the Children’s Theatre Company’s production of “A Year with Frog and Toad,” the three-time Tony Award-nominated musical ...