The Toad

THE TOAD GREETINGS!

Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm round of applause for our friend THE TOAD. HI, HOW ARE YOU? APPLAUSE

The toad is a type of FROG, but with some special traits. Toads and frogs are both descended from a frog who lived millions of years ago in South America. OLÁ!

There are more than 5,000 species of toads and frogs. Some live in water, some in trees and some on the ground. Some live in your bed! Ha ha, just kidding. Toads are frogs that live on land and have drier skin, shorter legs and stouter bodies.

Some toads are really WEIRD! The Emei mustache toad: It grows a mustache made of spikes. Hey ladies! The Venezuela pebble toad: It disguises itself as a pebble when threatened. I'm not here. The Suriname toad: Her babies come out of her back! Mama Mama The cane toad: It can grow as big as 15 inches (38 centimeters). Who's the boss? In this book, we'll be talking about Bufo bufo, or the common toad. Hi there!

The toad's skin is very special: she drinks and breathes through it! She needs to keep her skin hydrated, so she lives where she has access to WATER. What? It's good for my skin!