What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile? ANNOTATION
Mr. Crocodile's plans to catch and eat some pesky monkeys do not work out and he becomes friends with them instead.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Mr. Crocodile has big plans for finally catching and eating five pesky monkeys. But as the hours pass, the monkeys dupe him again and again. In the end they teach persnickety Mr. Crocodile something about friendship . . . and about having fun.
From the bestselling author of Counting Crocodiles and the talented illustrator of more than eighty children's books, here's a lively story about another thickheaded crocodile outwitted by mischievous monkeys. Children will delight in the rhyming text and will eagerly search for the clock that marks the hour in each spread. Soon they'll be shouting, "What time is it, Mr. Crocodile?"
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Jean Boreen, Ph.D.
Mr. Crocodile is a planner. Every evening he plans his next day: "visit the library, bath and snack, catch those pesky monkeys, cook. . . and eat those pesky monkeys, read a story." However, Mr. Crocodile finds that his careful planning does not always follow his best intentions. Although his day started off well—a breakfast of "a barnacle bagel and sea-slug souffle," "a quick look for a recipe book. HURRY UP! HURRY UP! I've got monkeys to cook"—the monkeys Mr. Crocodile had decided to catch end up helping him out and being interested in much the same activities he is. By the end of the book, Mr. Crocodile revises his daily schedule to include those "nice" monkeys, even going so far as to buy them bananas at the grocery store and share a book with them. The recurrent "What time is it, Mr. Crocodile?" on the left side of the page and the rhyming answer on the right are enhanced on every page by the humorous illustrations. This is a fun book to read to kids or to have read to parents by their child. 2004, Gulliver Books, Ages 3 to 8.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-Two picture-book talents join forces for some memorable monkey business in this entertaining tale. In the introductory spread, Mr. Crocodile lays out his intended schedule for the next day, but his best-laid plans go awry when the monkeys arrive. Sierra again demonstrates her considerable storytelling skill with a series of deftly rhymed answers to the repeated title question: "Time to take a quick look/for a recipe book./HURRY UP! HURRY UP!/I've got monkeys to cook." Although the story is vaguely reminiscent of several folktales involving cross crocodiles and mischievous monkeys, Mr. Crocodile ultimately shows a soft spot that compromises his traditionally sinister persona. The story ends with him revising his daily planner to reflect his new attitude toward the simian smart alecks. Cushman departs from his signature style of watercolor cartoons in favor of a more sophisticated impressionistic technique using vivid acrylics. This bolder, brighter medium and method depict the action and hilarity even more effectively than his past work. The details, of course, make all the difference, such as the inclusion of a clock in each full-bleed spread with the time corresponding to Mr. Croc's original schedule. Pair this with Sierra's Counting Crocodiles (Gulliver, 1997) for even more fun with this reptilian rogue and his pesky primate counterparts, or with Joan M. Lexau and Cushman's Crocodile and Hen (HarperCollins, 2001) for another tale of a crocodile befriending his intended dinner.-Sean George, Memphis-Shelby County Public Library & Information Center, Memphis, TN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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