Two Tough Crocs

February 10, 2014
"Sylvester spent all day making sure everyone knew how tough he was," writes Bedford (Mole's Babies). "He snapped branches in his jaws and chased small animals for fun. So did Arnold." The seemingly inevitable smackdown between these two rival crocs is derailed when they're one-upped by a bigger and even tougher croc named Betty ("She had the ugliest tough-croc face and bulgiest tough-croc eyes Sylvester and Arnold had ever seen"). The story takes a predictable turn: the cowed Sylvester and Arnold first escape and then befriend Betty (getting dunked in brown swamp mud proves to be the great equalizer), and when last seen, the once-terrible trio is enjoying some well-behaved jungle gym time with the smaller animals they used to terrorize. This allegory for rough-and-tumble playground dynamics gets some extra oomph from Jellett's (My Dad Thinks He's Funny) handsome yet unruly images. Subtle texture, shading, and playful dimension lend his relatively simple settings depth, and his croco-macho reptiles have particular presence as they thunder and blunder through the muddy pages. Ages 4â8.

January 15, 2014
Two tough crocs learn that there is always a bigger, tougher croc in the swamp. Jellett's two saurian bullies, Sylvester and Arnold, live in a big swamp. They have never even met. They both wear tough-croc shorts, so what else is there to say? One day, they accidentally meet. There is a showdown: They glare at each other before clinching in a fearsome two-clawed grip. (This is all tamely farcical as drawn in fruity colors by Bedford, though with just enough menace in the crocs' eyes to keep things from unadulterated silliness.) Then they hear a hiss. It's Betty the Bad, the biggest, toughest croc in the swamp, who wouldn't think twice about "messing up their toys." Sylvester and Arnold soon find themselves shivering in the slimy bog, waiting for nightfall and a dash to happier swamp grounds. When they try to make their escape, Betty spots them. The two little bullies clutch each other, and what does Betty see? A four-eyed, eight-clawed, teeth-rattling, knobby two-tailed something...something scary. A friendship is born. Despite its modest charms, there is not much of a story here, nor is the twist memorable enough to withstand many exposures. Good for one time around the block, though probably not for two. (Picture book. 4-8)

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April 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Sylvester and Arnold, the titular crocs, are bullies who each rule part of the swamp. When their paths cross, they are ready to fight-until Betty, an even bigger bully, comes along and scares them both. In their attempts to flee, they inadvertently join forces and scare her off. The colorful cartoon illustrations match the rough-and-tumble sensibility of the text. If the resolution is a bit pat, it also emphasizes that the world cannot be divided into bullies and victims and that every individual has the capacity to change.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Preschool-G Sylvester and Arnold are crocodile bullies with much in common. They both are large, disgruntled, and mean to the smaller animals that live near the swamp. The two potential foes meet by accident when they literally run into each other one day. Since each wants to be the scariest croc in the swamp, they begin to fight until an even bigger crocodile appears. I'm called Betty, she roars. Betty the Bad! How the two adversaries work together, though unintentionally, to save themselves from Bettyand also save facemakes for an animated read-aloud. Children will enjoy how Sylvester, Arnold, and Betty all get a deserved comeuppance and take note of the fact that there's always a bigger and badder bully out there, so it makes sense to acquire friends instead of enemies. Pair this with Keiko Kasza's The Rat and the Tiger (2007) for another entertaining tale of bullying, rude awakenings, and friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)