Crocodiles Play! Robert Heidbreder. Illustrated by Rae Maté. Vancouver, BC: Tradewind Books, 2008. 32 pp., hardcover, $16.95. ISBN 978-1-896580-89-0. Preschool-grade 1 / Ages 3-6. Review by Ian Stewart. *** /4

excerpt:

With eyes smeared black To cut the glare,
The Crocs gear up
With great Croc care.
In helmets. Pads,
They dash around,
Croc-ready for their first touch down.
They're pumped and primed
To win today.
A whistle blows.
HUP! HUP! They play-

     Those crazy crocodiles readers met in Crocodiles Say.... are back at it again. They're all dressed up to play what should be hockey, football, golf, basketball and other popular sports, but they have their games all mixed up. Baseball morphs into basketball and golf into baseball, and on it goes. Early years students will enjoy the Crocs' absurd antics and will take pleasure in taking the book off the library shelf.


     The well thought out poems include essential vocabulary for each sport being played, which adds to the value of the book (even if the Crocs get the game wrong). Golf-- green, rough, clubs, course, tees; tennis- rackets, pro, court; football--helmets, pads, touchdown, whistle; baseball--caps, shoes, mitts, bat. The colorful, cartoon-like, full-page illustrations of the toothy reptilians add immensely to the overall fun of the book.

Recommended

Ian Stewart is a early-years support teacher at David Livingstone School in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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