Tag: crocodiles

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Duckie and Snaps meet can they be friends?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Duckie and Snaps: We Cannot Be Friends!, by Ame Dyckman/Illustrated by Tim Miller, (Feb. 2025, Orchard Books), $14.99, ISBN: 9781338837872

Ages 2-6

The unlikeliest of friendships begins when one egg rolls into another’s nest. Duckie, a bright yellow duckling with a pink bow on her head, boisterously greets a more reserved crocodile and names him Snaps. As she’s describing all of the adventures the two new friends will have her, an adult crocodile shows up on the scene to inform the two hatchlings that they CANNOT be friends, because Snaps’s folks eat Duckies! This doesn’t sit well with either Duckie or Snaps, who just started getting used to his new friend, but when Snaps’s tummy starts a-rumbling, Duckie has to do some fast thinking. Dyckman’s hilarious back-and-forth dialogue, paired with Miller’s expressive facial expressions and body language, makes for a laugh-out-loud tale of friendship against all odds. Illustrations are organized into graphic novel-type panels, with dialogue taking place via word bubbles. The message is clear: friendship (and bananas) wins all. A great add to collections; I can’t wait to see what Duckie and Snaps will do on their next adventure.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

An overscheduled princess takes a day off: Princess Cora and the Crocodile

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Princess Cora and the Crocodile, by Laura Amy Schlitz/Illustrated by Brian Floca, (March 2017, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7636-4822-0

Recommended for readers 4-8

A king and queen have a baby that they coo and marvel over – until they realize that she’s clearly not ready to run an entire kingdom. From that moment on, Princess Cora’s life is a nonstop schedule of lessons, physical training, and nonstop bathing (seriously, her nanny’s got a bit of a complex). Cora writes to her fairy godmother in desperation, and the response, while not necessarily what Cora expected, is exactly what she needs. A crocodile shows up to take Cora’s place for a day; while Cora takes a day off to enjoy being a kid, the crocodile sets to teaching the king, queen, and nanny a thing or two.

Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz and Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca have joined their considerable forces to create a book that parents need to read (cough, cough, and education administrators, cough, cough) as much as their children do. Princess Cora and the Crocodile is all about the stresses our kids face today: the lack of time to enjoy being a kid, doing kid things. The king and queen are so stressed out about what Cora’s not ready for, they strip the joy not only from Cora’s childhood, but rob themselves of the chance to enjoy watching Cora grow up; of playing on the floor with her as an infant, climbing trees and running around their considerable lands with her, of reveling in the carefree fun that parents should embrace.

When Cora’s fairy godmother sends a crocodile to her family, the croc immediately – if a bit roughly – sets to whipping Cora’s family into shape, with hilarious results. While the croc wreaks havoc at home, Cora spends the day picking strawberries, climbing trees, even stepping in a cow pie, and enjoying every moment of it. Every. Unscheduled. Moment. Brian Floca’s ink, watercoor, and gouache artwork is fun, hilarious, and every bit as free and joyful as the story’s text.

Image courtesy of Brian Floca

Parents, read this one. Please. It’s as much for us as it is for our kids. Schlitz and Floca created this fairy tale to let kids know that it’s okay to be a kid, but the message here is for us adults, because we’re the ones who can make the changes kids need to be happy – to be kids – again.

Princess Cora and the Crocodile received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly.

Illustrator Brian Floca has a fantastic webpage, with lots of online extras, information about school visits, and upcoming events.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions introduces a new bunch of woodland friends

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

nocturnals_1The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions, by Tracey Hecht/Illustrated by Kate Liebman (April 2016, Fabled Films), $15.99, ISBN: 9781944020002

Recommended for ages 7-12

Animal fiction fans, get ready: there’s a new group in town, and they only go on adventures at night. The Nocturnals, or as they refer to themselves, the Brigade, are Dawn, a smart and serious fox; Tobin, a very sweet pangolin, and Bismark, a loud, well-meaning but self-centered sugar glider. (Don’t call him a squirrel or a bat!) Shortly after the three meet, they find themselves investigating a mystery: animals are disappearing! As the Nocturnals search for answers, they meet other animals along the way that will help them – but can they avoid being kidnapped by the mysterious culprit?

The Nocturnals is a fun, packed with humor and a little shot of adventure for intermediate and middle grade readers. Color artwork by Kate Liebman adds interest and kicks off each chapter, and she captures the various personalities created by author Tracey Hecht. Bismark is almost hilariously over the top, slipping into different languages, professing his love for Dawn, the fox, and making sure everyone within earshot knows he’s the star of the show, if only in his imagination. Dawn is observant, often serious, and quick to figure things out (she is a fox, after all), and Tobin is the kind peacemaker who finds his self-esteem on this first outing.  Book 2, The Ominous Eye, is due out in September.

I like the positive messages in the book – teamwork and keeping promises among them – and I like the use of animals we don’t normally discover on adventures: sugar gliders, wombats, and tobins! The book provides a great opportunity to introduce these animals to children’s vocabulary, and indeed, The Nocturnals website has some excellent educator resources available, including printable animal fact cards, book club questions, coloring sheets, and resources for ELA and Science education. I was excited to see a book club script suggestion, so I can get my readers busy acting the parts out (since book discussions don’t work with my kids, this is an interesting and fun project to approach them with). The Nocturnals website also offers to send a free cape for your stuffed animal if you join their Brigade!

Animal fiction is great for intermediate and middle graders – The Nocturnals should be a good fit with collections. Booktalk and display this with your Erin Hunter books (Warriors/Seekers/Survivors), the Spirit Animals series, and Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole and Horses of the Dawn series.

Take a look at the book trailer for The Mysterious Abductions.