Watch Out for the Crocodile by Lisa Moroni and Eva Eriksson

Watch Out for the Crocodile by Lisa Moroni and Eva Eriksson
Buy Watch Out for the Crocodile by Lisa Moroni and Eva Eriksson at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Lorraine McDonald
Summary: Tora and her Dad are going camping. Tora wants to see wild animals and survive on berries. She doesn’t want to go to the supermarket and she certainly doesn’t want Dad to use his mobile or GPS. When the wildlife proves elusive, Tora needs to use all her imagination but can Dad do the same? A sweet and memorable tale of father-daughter bonding that parents and children will enjoy.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: March 2014
Publisher: Gecko Press
ISBN: 9781877579899
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Little Tora is going on a very special trip with her Dad. Trekking, camping and animal spotting are on Tora’s agenda. No more work, coffee drinking or talking on his mobile for Dad. Well, perhaps not much talking on his mobile anyway. First though, there is some boring stuff; buying supplies at the supermarket and making the long car journey to the forest. When will they start to have fun? And where are those wild animals? A little bit of imagination is called for from both father and daughter to make the trip a memorable one.

Watch Out for the Crocodile is a lovely narrative of a parent’s outing with his child. The story is engaging but it’s the relationship and characters that are sweet and memorable. The impatience of childhood is insightfully captured. A minute in the supermarket is a lifetime. A mile on the road is a never ending marathon. Expectations are sky high and judgement is damning. Pity Tora’s poor Dad who is ‘boring’. And as for those animals – an ant and an elusive woodpecker are not what Tora expected. Lucky then that she has a vivid imagination. A tree root becomes a snake. A tree trunk becomes a giraffe. Then a lion lies in wait. Dad doesn’t see it, what with monitoring his GPS and making phone calls. When they encounter the ‘crocodile’ he is unprepared. Fortunately Tora saves him. When it’s time to set up camp, guess what? Dad spots a wild beast – it turns out he has imagination too. What’s more, as Tora enjoys her hotdog cooked on the camp fire, she realises that some ’boring’ preparation really does pay off.

Lovely, soft illustrations accompany the text. I just loved Tora’s face. Angry, bored, sulking, determined, then content on Dad’s knee and, finally, snug in the tent, illuminated by the beam of his head torch. The flora and fauna is beautifully depicted, both the real wildlife and the imaginary creatures. Keep an eye out for the detail too – the loss of Dad’s hat, the tantruming child outside the supermarket and Tora’s soft toy pup who comes along for the, sometimes bumpy, ride.

In a sense this is a modern book with an overworked Dad glued to his technology. The key themes though are timeless. Sometimes life doesn’t go as expected but with a little imagination, it will all work out. Put your phone down and watch out for the crocodile.

If you'd like to see some more crocodiles, try The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Watch Out for the Crocodile by Lisa Moroni and Eva Eriksson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.

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