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This is a story that’s full of fun. Despite the evil scheming of the crocodiles (who have the suitably munchy names of Cruncher, Chopper and Snapper) there are no animal massacres in this book. Instead , we see the crocs having a wonderful time at Zebra’s party, jumping on the bouncy castle, playing pass the parcel and eating enough birthday cake to get a tummy ache! In fact, the crocodiles have such an amazing time at the party that it isn’t until they are on their walk home that they suddenly remember that they were supposed to eat everyone there! Still, all is not lost as they have another party invitation to go along to next week!

I rather like the bumbling villains in this story. Their costumes are so ridiculous that it’s a miracle no one recognises them! And their antics at the party are fun to watch. I love the page where they’re doing the conga with everyone, and also when they’re joining in the fun of popping all the party balloons. The story is well written, and you can practice your evil villain voices for the crocodiles. There’s plenty of opportunity for loud party noises, including conga singing too, so this perhaps isn’t the best calming down for bedtime book! The story is easy to follow for little ones, with short sentences on each page rather than longer long paragraphs, and it’s enjoyably silly for those who are a bit older to have a go at reading it for themselves.

The illustrations are really well done, and each of the crocodiles seems to have his own little personality. All of the animals are quite zany, but still recognisable as animals. The colours are bright and cheerful, and there’s there are lots going on through each scene. My three year old and I enjoyed reading this together, and we both laughed aloud at the poor crocodiles when they realised they’d forgotten to eat anyone! Plenty of fun and frolics here, for a lively afternoon read.

Further reading suggestion: You might also like to try this [[Melrose and Croc: Together at Christmas by Emma Chichester-Clark]] whilst younger crocodile lovers may enjoy [[Sleepy or Not, Mr Croc? by Jo Lodge]]. We think you'll also like [[Wishker by Heather Pindar and Sarah Jennings]].