Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wry narration from Jenkins (The Squirrels' Busy Year) and dreamy illustrations by Kitamura (My Hand) elevate what could be a pedestrian animal exploration. Crocodiles are scary, Jenkins admits up front ("They've got an awful lot of... teeth"), but rather than reveling in blood and guts, he treats the way they capture their prey with charming British understatement: "Let's just say there's a lot of twirling and thrashing, and then things go a bit quiet." He devotes more attention to a tender account of crocodile maternal care: "Then-very carefully-she picks up the newly hatched babies in her enormous jaws and drops them into the water nearby." Kitamura uses a documentary style different from his usual jaunty artwork: layers of gray wash, soft colors, and dynamic strokes emphasize the croc's massive bulk, its glittery golden eyes, and its mouthful of teeth. A graduated sapphire and rose wash conveys the limpid beauty of sea and sky, and a simple index includes instructions for using indexes. It's not just a good crocodile reference; it's a good introduction to reference books. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-British conservation biologist Jenkins (Fabulous Frogs; Can We Save the Tiger?) teams up with Japanese illustrator Kitamura for a factual, funny, and frightening study of the lifespan of one of the world's most fearsome creatures. As Kitamura's grand and formidable crocodile moves from the title page to the first spread with jaws open wide, Jenkins's playful writing alleviates how frightening this subject can be: "If there's one thing you should know about crocodiles, it's that they're really scary-or at least the big ones are. They've got an awful lot of.teeth." Focusing on crocodiles' hunting and nesting patterns, the spare text is packed with information. When it is time for the crocodile to eat, the most gruesome parts are left off the page, but both text, rendered in different sizes, and illustrations give a sense of momentum and movement. This dramatic read-aloud contains occasional well-placed, offset crocodile facts, but stopping to read them doesn't disrupt the pacing. Kitamura's pen, watercolor, and mixed-media illustrations capture the animal's natural smile, adding personality, and the use of shadow and line adds tension as the animals sneak up on their prey. Back matter offers additional facts, including the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. VERDICT An engaging and enlightening classroom read-aloud, and a first purchase for libraries.-Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Heeding the old adage when introducing a topic to children, start with what they know, Jenkins initiates his discussion of crocodiles with their most prominent feature: those fascinating and intimidating teeth, which Kitamura depicts in all their spiky glory. From there, its an easy segue to the crocodiles predatory behavior, but sly understatement tones down this aspect: theyre not at all picky about what they eat as long as its got a bit of meat on it. What happens when crocodiles spot their prey is rather gruesome, so Jenkins opts to skip the details. Lets just say theres a lot of twirling and thrashing and then things go a bit quiet. He soon juxtaposes this action with the care the female gives to her eggs and eventual hatchlings, pointing out that these babies are now (temporarily) preyeven to their own fathers. The account comes full circle as these young crocodiles grow up and become predators themselves. Related details appear in smaller type on many pages, while an authors note adds information about habitats and classification. Kitamuras mixed-media illustrations correspond with the text but include a bit of whimsy in extratextual features, such as the depiction of a nattily dressed crocodile scanning a restaurant menu of favored prey in the back matter. Chomp down on this one; theres a lot of meat on these narrative bones. Appended with an index. betty carter March/April 2019 p 102(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A picture book that presents some information about crocodiles.The book begins: "If there's one thing you should know about crocodiles, it's that they're really scary." And that does crocodiles a huge disservice. While the story does present some crocodile factscrocodile mothers build nests of leaves and lay between 40 and 60 eggs; crocodiles don't need to eat that oftenthe bulk of the story focuses on how crocodiles sneak up on their prey and eat them. Author Jenkins' tone is conversational and droll, but the dry humor doesn't outweigh the story's fearmongering ("waiting for somethingor even somebodyto come down to drink"). It's hard to know what purpose this serves, other than developing in readers a fear of the natural world. Kitamura's mixed-media illustrations, featuring large, toothy crocodiles that sprawl, side-to, across double-page spreads, are largely redundant. Sometimes the crocodile faces left, sometimes right. The backmatter offers additional information: There are 16 kinds of crocodiles; the crocodiles featured in the book are saltwater crocodiles. As this is not relayed in the story itself, readers may feel some confusion with basic facts: Do all kinds build nests out of leaves? Do they all lay 40 to 60 eggs? "More Information" lists all of two websites, one last updated in 2012.A story that sacrifices facts for drama about creatures that have lived on Earth since the dinosaurs (a fact readers won't find in this book). (index) (Informational picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
