Let's all creep through Crocodile Creek

Mouse's plan to take his friends home using a shortcut through the "creepy, crooked creek" worries Shelly (a tortoise) and Rabbit: "Isn't that where the crocodiles live?" Self-assured Mouse repeatedly states, "I've NEVER seen a crocodile in the creepy, crooked creek," but the others remain skeptical. As Mouse describes the different parts of a crocodile ("knobby, bumpy back," "pokey, pointy claws," "flippy, whippy tails," "slimy bodies," and "scary, starey eyes"), the trio traverses what appear to be a bridge, thorns, vines, logs, and a tunnel before discovering they've been surrounded by "sneaky, snappy crocodiles" the whole time (and even temporarily inside one's "terrible, toothy mouth"). The illustrations humorously reveal what the text and speech-bubble dialogue initially do not: in each spread, as the critters cross the creek, they do so via the discussed crocodile feature, which is disguised by its surroundings (the bridge is actually a croc's bumpy back, the vine a croc's tail). It's clear from the book's tongue-in-cheek ending (after their escape) that Mouse hasn't learned from the experience, and readers will delight in imagining what (tiger) trouble awaits the friends in the "fearsome, frightful forest." Lambert uses alliteration, rhyming words, and repetition to great effect; combined with his textured, easy-to-parse double-page-spread illustrations, the book makes an entertaining read-aloud. Cynthia K. Ritter November/December 2019 p.70(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.