Alberto the Dancing Alligator

by Richard Waring

After Tina's pet alligator Alberto accidentally goes down the toilet, she has to find a way to save him from the city's alligator hunters and bring him home so she can dance the tango with him again.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Friendship, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2002

Reviews

[Garrett Podell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Tina is given an alligator egg by her Uncle Ezra, and it hatches, becoming Tina's best friend Alberto. The two have lots of fun together as Alberto grows up especially dancing to the gator's favorite song, the tango. One day, the two are playing in the bathroom and Alberto slips into the toilet, and Tina accidentally flushes him into the sewers, which leads to panic as Alberto pops his head up into the wrong household a number of times through toilets. This causes a panic to where the president and army call in specialized alligator hunters, but Alberto finds his way back home when Tina plays tango. In the end, Tina takes Alberto to the animal sanctuary to live with other alligators, but he still comes home every weekend to Tango with Tina.

Theme: The major themes of the story are love and friendship because Tina loves her pet Alberto, but eventually she has to let him go be with other alligators since that's what right for him, which is a sign of deep love. However, their friendship remains because he comes to Tina's every weekend to tango.
Star Rating: Four stars.

Personal Response: I liked the book a lot because it showed a the love between a pet and a child, something that is probably present in a lot of people's lives.

My Recommendation: I would definitely recommend the book to children from kindergarten to fifth grade because it shows how you have to make tough choices with those you love in order to ensure their long-term happiness.

[Beth Bauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so fun to read, and brings back many childhood memories! :) The illustrations are full of energy and exciting details, but simple enough to not be overwhelming, and the prose is awfully fun to read. Highly recommend this books for children aged 2 to... well, I'm 20 and still enjoying it. :P

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute illustrations but the title is misleading as the majority of the book details Alberto's adventure in the sewers and not as a dancing alligator.

Would give it 3.5 stars.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Alligator themed storytime 7/31/2018

[Mhm Storytelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for either an alligator/reptile theme or a dancing theme. Not only is this book adorable but it offers plenty of opportunities to have children interact by making motions, dancing or answering questions asked by the reader. This book also has good pictures and parts are usually good for a laugh. However, there is one red flag. Some of the pages are difficult to read because the words are a part of the illustrations rather than in a paragraph, but this can be easily avoided by paraphrasing.

[Jerrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alberto the dancing alligator is filled with imagination! Children will love this book not only because of the fantasy in it but all the eye catching illustrations. Some of the pages have some sort of comic book style which spices up the "normal" picture books.
Something that I didnt understand was that the book wasnt really about Alberto dancing until the very end. It was mainly about how the town was freaked out about an alligator going through the sewer systems.
This book teaches the reader that friends come in all forms of nature.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly cute book about a friendly alligator who accidentally slips, while dancing, down the toilet. Since the book is more about the adventure down than toilet than about the dancing, I'm not sure why the book is titled as it is.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny book.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. The kids liked this one a lot.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great children's book. I love the illustrations and plot.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a fun book. a little long for storytime unless you have some older listeners. introduces the tango and mass hysteria related to misleading news.