Unexpected Crocodile by Kim Kane and Sara Acton

Unexpected Crocodile by Kim Kane and Sara Acton
Buy Unexpected Crocodile by Kim Kane and Sara Acton at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: A rather strange story, but perfect for little ones who enjoy a naughty crocodile!
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: June 2015
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-1760111731
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It’s always a worry when a large animal comes to tea. Here we find our characters inviting in a crocodile, who just happens to have dropped by to join Peggy and her family as they entertain the Dawsons for a barbecue. Why has the crocodile come? And more importantly, will he ever leave?

There are aspects of this book that I don’t think work very well for little children. Much of the story is about obnoxious, competitive friends, because the Dawsons who come over for dinner are really very boastful and not very nice to be around. Of course, it turns out that that is who the crocodile has come to eat, putting everyone out of their misery! I felt, though, that this aspect of unwanted visitors, or awkward friends, or overly competitive parents, would be lost on a toddler. The real enjoyment for them is in the shock of a crocodile being at the front door, and of course the surprise when he starts to eat the guests!

You can enjoy the tale without fully understanding the implications, however, and the lightly drawn illustrations help with that. There are no gruesome, gratuitous shots of Mr Crocodile munching down on Mr Dawson...it’s all left to your imagination and we just see the crocodile politely wiping his mouth. We do, however, see him sprinkling a little salt on one of the children, which did make me smile! Peggy is a sweetly drawn little girl, and I did rather enjoy the image of Mrs Dawson with her towering plate of croquembouche!

I found myself veering off into a very poor Australian accent whilst reading this one aloud. It’s by an Australian author, who was inspired by pictures from the Queensland floods, and it helps you get over the problem of calling welly boots gum boots if you give it a bit of an Aussie twang! See, all those wasted hours watching Neighbours have finally come in handy! Still, it’s easy to read and although it’s a little macabre we didn’t find it too scary in our house, and there were no nightmares afterwards. I’d suggest that since the story is perhaps a little advanced for younger children you try borrowing a copy first from the library, and then if it goes down well, invest in your own for repeated crocodile fun!

If you enjoy this, you might also like Sleepy or Not, Mr Croc? by Jo Lodge or The Star-Faced Crocodile by David Melling

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You can read more book reviews or buy Unexpected Crocodile by Kim Kane and Sara Acton at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Unexpected Crocodile by Kim Kane and Sara Acton at Amazon.com.

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