The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino

from goodreads

4.5 stars

I love swimming. In my fantasy life I am able to wake up at 5:30 every morning and go for a swim at the local pool. Then I come home energized and ready to start the day. In my real life I stay in bed as long as I possibly can and then bleary eyed start the day and get the kids ready. Oh, fantasy lives. How wonderful and far from reality you are.

My kids are not quite as enthusiastic about swimming. It has taken them, what seems like, forever to get comfortable in the water. They would not put their faces in it for anything. When we first took my youngest swimming she screamed bloody murder the whole time we were there. When they say "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" they most definitely were not talking about swimming.

Synopsis

There is a little crocodile who, like the title says, does not like water. Will he ever become like the other crocs or is he doomed to play alone forever?

My Thoughts

This was a super cute book. My five year old really loved it. She took it everywhere with her and told anyone who would listen that this was her favourite book.

You really feel for this little crocodile. And the simplicity of the illustrations allows the story to really pull at your heartstrings. I loved how even the inside cover illustrations at the front and at the back were part of the story, it was not simply a blank page or a copy of the cover. They were pivotal to the understanding of the story. I love it when books do that. When they make you look at every single page to get clues about the story. It is also nice to see paper not being wasted by just being blank.

I loved that the little croc saved money from the tooth fairy. I wish that tooth fairy would visit me. With my quarters I wasn't going to be buying anything with my tooth fairy money.

The only quibble I had with it, and it is really minor, is that the ending felt a bit abrupt and was almost too simplistic. Like, when the little crocodile's family finds out the truth, they were just like "cool, whatev". They didn't seem to want to get at the bottom of how it happened or anything. I know that it probably isn't necessary but it just felt a bit off to me.

This is a book that as a parent you won't mind when your child asks you to read it ten times in a row. It is delightful.