Let's All Creep Through Crocodile Creek!

Pause (paws?) at the first endpaper, and deliberate. Whose prints are these? Then… as it is starting to get dark, prepare to return home. Best take the shortcut, through the creek. There follows a conversation between Rabbit, Mouse and Tortoise. Mouse claims there are certainly not crocodiles in the creepy, crooked creek, whereas Rabbit expresses doubts. Tortoise, unfamiliar with the idea of crocodile, listens as Mouse begins to describe a croc’s features… a knobbly, gnarly back… pokey, pointy claws,… and they enter the creepy, crooked creek. By this time in the tale, readers will be searching the illustrations for more clues…. Those swingy, springy vines, do they look much like a croc’s flippy, whippy tail? Mouse is the intrepid one, bouncing and swinging and hopping along, trying to divert his friends from their fears. Uh oh. Of course, encounters ensue. PANIC! Away they ran from the sneaky, snappy crocodiles. Ending? “Easy Peasy,” says Mouse; “Shortcut through the forest.” “The fearsome, frightful forest? Won’t there be tigers?” asks Rabbit. Shelly the tortoise has the last word. “What’s a tiger?” Then, wonderful end papers, thick orange and black stripes. The detailed pictures are playful and the characters are well created. Each conversation between the friends is littered with alliteration, making reading aloud a delight. The illustrations are full of movement, with the three main characters each having their own traits. And of course there is the protagonist Croc for which to search. Children would enjoy play acting in groups of three, with some creepy, knobbly, gnarly backed crocodiles lurking. A great read.