Toad Rage
Morris Gleitzman
Toad Rage follows
the adventures of a lowly cane toad named Limpy, while he is trying to end the human hatred towards his species. It starts off by Limpy getting
angry over the deliberate murder of his family and friends, when they are run
over and squashed by humans. He decides that the best way to stop all the
hatred towards cane toads is to try and get one to be a mascot for the
Olympics.
This novel is set in Northern Queensland and looks at
the problem of over population of an introduced species (cane toad), but from
the cane toads perspective. Instead of looking at the over population as the
problem Gleitzman looks at the unnecessary killing of cane toads. This is shown
in the novel when Limpy witnesses the murder of one of his family members when
a truck deliberately swerves to kill him/her. The ending to this novel sees
Limpy not getting the coveted mascot role he was after, but forming a
friendship with an Olympic athlete. With this Limpy realises that with being in
the limelight around humans creates its own disadvantages.
The themes covered in this novel are all from the viewpoint of Limpy. The
themes covered include; friendship, family, courage and facing adversity. These themes are covered throughout
the novel while Limpy is on his quest. Friendship and family is consistently
brought up when through his quest companion Goliath (his cousin and best
friend). Facing adversity and courage is brought up through Limpy and Goliath conquering
different challenges that are thrown his way on their journey. These themes
could lead into an English program through having the students make connections
between their own life and some events that they may be struggling or struggled
through.
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