Before going any further I should admit that I’m re-reading this book right now sighing with recognition; as a parent who just wants a little bit of piece and quiet, but with children rushing around thinking they’ve got the latest, greatest idea for having fun, and who just cannot understand why I don’t find their games (jumping out at me, sneaking up on me, making a racket) just as enjoyable as they do… I think this review is going to reflect my current end of half-term (holiday) weariness!

All Solomon (a rather handsome crocodile) wants to do is have fun, whether it’s splashing through mud or charging at hippos. But unfortunately for poor Solomon, those around him do not enjoy his high jinks. Rather they snap at Solomon for being a nuisance, a pest, for being trouble. Poor Solomon! All he wants to do is play.

After several failed attempts at fun Solomon hears a familiar noise… Who is bugging the dragonflies? Who has the storks in flap? Could it be that double trouble is on the horizon?

Kids will love the playfulness, the naughtiness and the idea of having a partner in crime. Adults (or at least those who’ve played their hearts out all holidays and now just want to have some time alone!) will empathise with the harried river residents Solomon sneaks up on in his quest to have fun. Everyone will love the dazzling, bold illustrations for which Rayner is well known.

Some readers may be disappointed this story doesn’t take a more upright moral stance on Solomon’s at-best-mischievous-at-worst-annoying behaviour, others might say this book is more about observation than sermonizing. Solomon may be a rather rascally little crocodile but he’s one, drawn with great charm, that has found a place in our hearts!

Inspired by Rayner’s beautiful, highly textured drawings of Solomon we wanted to create our own scaly creatures. The girls used ink and cotton buds to draw outlines of their animals (mostly snakes and dinosaurs) and then sprinkled wax crayon shavings inside their bodies.

I placed a piece of baking paper over their drawings and ironed the wax shavings, which melted creating mottled scales. The girls then filled up their animals with watercolour washes.

A final touch was using gold and silver pens to add highlights to the scales – just as is done on the very alluring front cover of Solomon Crocodile.

Our artwork complete, it was hung in our favourite gallery (aka the kitchen).

The texture is something best appreciated up close!

Whilst painting we listened to:

Other fun activities that would work well alongside this book include:

What’s your favourite crocodile book? What do you feel about picture books which don’t take a principled stand against “bad” behaviour? Should naughtiness always be commented upon if we want to use books as a way to explore appropriate behaviour with kids?

Disclosure: Solomon Crocodile was provided to me gratis by the publisher. This review, however, reflects my own and honest opinion.

Photo: Kevin Zime

I have an admission to make….
…..I’ve got a soft spot for crocodiles!

Apparently one of my first words was “crocodile” (well… something more like “tot-la-die-loo” if I’m precise), and if a book has a crocodile in it, I’ll always give it a second look. Little Croc’s Purse by Lizzie Finlay is full of cute crocodiles so I was more than happy to read it to M and J when we discovered it recently.

Little Croc is out playing one day with his friends when he finds a purse. The crocodiles soon discover it is full of money, and all but Little Croc start talking about what they will buy with the purse’s contents. Little Croc, however, is determined to take the purse to the police station in an attempt to find its rightful owner.

Despite the jeering from his friends and various temptations laid before him Little Croc sticks to his guns and his honesty is then rewarded; the owner of the purse is so pleased to be reunited with a locket none of the crocodiles had realised was hidden in the purse, that Little Croc is given the purse and the money by way of thanks. Being a good sort of crocodile Little Croc splits his reward three ways – he spends some, he shares some (by buying gifts for his friends) and he saves the rest. Everyone ends up happy and Little Croc has shown his friends that honesty really is the best policy.

M and J have enjoyed this book. The illustrations are bright and cheerful and the crocodiles are just charming. I personally found the storyline a little
didactic; the “moral” of the story is laid out in such a way as to leave little room for personal reflection or drawing one’s own conclusions (which is surely a far more powerful way to learn from something). And whilst I of course applaud Little Croc’s actions, and would want my kids to do the same I couldn’t stop thinking about my own experience of once handing in a bunch of keys I’d found to the police station – the officer on duty looked at me almost with disdain and all but said he had better things to be doing with his time that looking after lost property… a true but sorry story.

Despite all this, Little Croc’s generosity is heart-warming (he goes out of his way to give a gift to one of the crocodiles who had been particularly horrible to him, and this selfless act of kindness, you sense, ensures that the previously unpleasant crocodile will be much nicer in the future) and although the main message of the story is a little starkly put for my liking, several other themes are introduced with a lightness of touch, such as not giving in to bullying, still being liked and respected by others even when opinions on the best course of action differ, a discussion of what gives an object value, and a rather sensible approach to financial management which could make this a good book to read if you are about to start giving your kids pocket money.

All this all adds up to create a story that has given M and me plenty to talk to each other about – and a book that creates conversations long after the covers have been closed is always a winner.

Our immediate crafty reaction to this book was to use some of the boxes that have been littering our shed since Christmas to make a crocodile.

We painted several boxes green…

…then M cut out some teeth. Limbs were made by rolling up some green construction paper, and the tail was made from a long cone of paper. Eyes were made out of the dome-y bits of an egg carton. Everything was stuck together with tape and then the girls went swimming!

It didn’t take long till the game changed to “What does the crocodile want to eat?”…. and poor dolly was the first to end up in Croc’s tummy!

Little Croc’s Purse:** (2 stars)

Some snappy music which would go well with Little Croc’s Purse includes:

And if you don’t have a surplus of cardboard boxes, or a gallon of green paint, you might instead try making:

There are also some activity sheets from the publisher to go with Little Croc’s Purse – they’re available here (scroll to the bottom of the page), as are some activity sheets for Box of Tricks, which I reviewed here.

Up until today all books reviewed on Playing by the book have been either ones I’ve owned or ones I’ve borrowed from the library. Little Croc’s Purse is the first book reviewed which I received from a publisher. So this post marks a potentially exciting new phase for me here (not that I expect to be inundated by books from publishers), and it means that I need now to think about a book review policy. If any of you have already written one, or thought about writing one, I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions.