Croc & Turtle! The bestest friends ever!

Cheered on by his supportive friend Turtle, Croc attempts to show he is the best at something, but passersby undermine his feats of strength, hopping, and speed. With a "fling!" elephant proves himself better at lifting heavy boulders; with a "wheeeeee!" rabbit easily jumps higher; and with a "zoooooooooom!" cheetah easily outruns the friendly crocodile. "I'm not the best at anything!" a defeated Croc sniffles. Turtle reassures Croc-"You are stronger than me. You can jump higher than me. And you can run way faster than me!"-before realizing that he isn't the best at anything either. Fortunately, the pair discover that they excel at the same task: being best friends. Characterized by gentle colors and uncluttered pages, gouache paintings by Wohnoutka (Moo!) capture an innocent and uncomplicated friendship between two likable best buds. Ages 3-6. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Is Croc best at something? Pal Turtle certainly thinks so.Croc asks Turtle if Turtle would like to see Croc lift a heavy rock; Turtle says sure. It's not easy, but Croc lifts it and claims the title of strongest. Turtle claps. Along comes Elephant, who tries lifting the rockand tosses it skyward. Croc then asks Turtle if Turtle would like to see Croc jump over the rock. Turtle is impressed when Croc performs the taskthen along comes Rabbit, who demonstrates that Croc's not the best jumper either. Turns out Croc's not as fast as Cheetah, either. Croc's sad not to be the best at anything. Turtle points out that Croc is better than Turtle at all of the feats attempted. Neither of them is the bestuntil they realize they are both the best at being best friends. Wohnoutka's good-natured tale of competition concludes with a heartwarming denouement and a funny finish, when the buddies bump into a friendly shark after deciding Turtle's the best swimmer and Croc has the most teeth. Between its kid-friendly treatment and its sunny, cartoon characters, this is a great addition to storytime collections as well as good bibliotherapy for the overly competitive. The text is composed entirely of dialogue and sound effects, and no character has a specified gender.These reptiles with a rockin' relationship will win fans. (Picture book. 2-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.