Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Café

Rumba the cat and Figaro the dog are the best of friends and share many an adventure. Figaro wakes up one morning to the perfect day. He does his best to convince Rumba, who is morose and full of objections, that they should take the Very Fast Train all the way to the beach. Eventually, and after several mishaps, they board the train. They sit opposite a strange crocodile, who, it turns out, is a musician born in Cuba, just like Rumba. Rumba is delighted with their new friend, but Figaro is wary for there’s something about the reptile’s smile that makes him suspicious.

Eighty-four pages long, the story is divided into six chapters, each of which deals with an episode related to the friends’ adventure. Told at a leisurely pace, the story meanders through their day, introducing new characters along the way.

The text is dense, the writing style and vocabulary quite complex, which may deter beginner readers. The book is best suited to reading aloud to a young audience or for confident readers. However, more fluent readers may find a mismatch between their reading ability and interest level. The illustrations are charming, conveying the characters’ personalities in a distinctive, scratchy style of pen and watercolour.