Review by Horn Book Review
The spotlight is on crocodiles in this lively addition to Eatons series (previous titles presented seriously funny facts about hippos, bears, dolphins, and elephants). Straightforward informational prose provides a crash course on crocodile types, diet, reproduction, habitat, and more. The cartoonlike pen-and-ink illustrations tell a story of their own, with thick black outlines and bold colors. Crocs and other creaturesincluding a party hatwearing kidare shown with speech bubbles in silly fictionalized scenarios, often cracking jokes as they react to the factual content and plan a birthday party for the kid and the baby crocodiles who hatch in the story. At the same time, labels and panels (often resembling wooden park signage) are featured on the visually dense pages, revealing additional facts with relatable, child-friendly explanations. A baby croc often weighs as little as a stick of butter. A spread of croc country no-nos includes safety tips; the scare factor is kept to a minimum through the use of humor and thoughtful descriptions. (Although humans are listed on the croc diet diagram, the only prey fiercely hunted and devoured by a crocodile in this book is a birthday-party piata.) This wacky, fact-packed title can serve multiple purposes: educational, entertaining, and everything in between. elisa gall September/October 2019 p.109(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
Get to know the crocodilian familycrocodiles, alligators and caimans, and gharialsat an eventful birthday party. Eaton (The Truth About Elephants, 2018, etc.) continues his series of tongue-in-cheek introductions to iconic animal species with facts and fancies about these toothy reptiles. Cartoon illustrations feature talking animals (mainly white-coated scientist turtles) and the brown-skinned human birthday girl. Text is presented in speech bubbles, callout boxes, and a simple informational narrative. Facts and exaggerated fiction mingle in both words and pictures. Young readers, listeners, and even adults will enjoy the humor and the curious infobits presented along with the usual important topics: distinguishing among the major groups and describing where crocs live around the world, their reptile characteristics, customary habitat and behavior, feeding, child-rearing, ways to avoid the threat they pose to humans, and the threats they face from humans. The illustrations are lively. On the title page, three crocs speed down a waterway in an Everglades-style airboat. An early spread shows an Australian freshwater crocodile floating underwater, with ears, eyes, and nostrils above. Its "powerful tail for swimming" is highlighted. The tail returns, later, when "The croc, powered by its muscular tail, bursts out of the water with its jaws open" to demolish a piata at the birthday party. Repetition, humor, and surprise help cement the learning. A party to rememberand a species to respect. (Informational picture book. 4-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
