Crocodile Beat

by Gail Jorgensen, Patricia Mullins (Illustrator)

There's a party going on down by the river! All the animals are there--ducks and elephants, monkeys and birds, even bears and a snake. They're all dancing, singing, and stomping their feet, with King Lion himself leading the song.

But they'd better watch out. Old croc's waking up and he's hungry! Luckily, King Lion is very brave. He'll save his friends without missing a beat!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Juvenile, Fiction, Africa

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun little book with rhymes, the story is told with drawings about a crocodile who wants to deceive animals so he can eat them. I think this is a great read for parents with little kids. Children would enjoy all of the different animal noises and the way it is written makes it enjoyable.

This book is in the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up challenge I am doing.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

MAYBE 2.5 stars

The animal sounds are fun for a once through but this makes the crocodile look like a bad guy, compared to all other animals which just didn't sit right with us. Also the kids didn't quite get the ending. They thought there should have been more but it just ends abruptly.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read with preschoolers using puppets and a drum.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 1001 CBYMRBYGU. Ah, an Australian Brown Bear sort of story. Great pictures. Great story. And I loved reading that the author wrote the story in her classroom with her students.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book of wild animals and the noises they make. There is a nice twist at the end. Watercolor illustrations are colorful and beautiful. Kids will enjoy this one. It is also a rhyming book. It would be great for a read-aloud because kids would enjoy making the noises out loud featured on each page. Highly recommended for grades K-1.

[Adriana Palencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book but I think it could have used a better ending. On the other hand children would enjoy all of the different animal noises. I really liked how the author emphasized some words by changing their font and size.

[Pennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has animals, and the noises they make, so is a sure-fire hit with my daughter. Since my daughter likes crocodiles, we almost ended up sympathising with the crocodile, even though he actually wanted to eat the other animals.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Recommended Grade Level: Early Primary

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book and the variety of different animals that are in it as well. Student participation could definitely be used to help make the different sounds throughout the book.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. The pictures are so cute, too.

[Hiba Yuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations.

[Naomi Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for teaching animal sounds and rhyming.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lion becomes the tamer and proves that there is more than one use for a throne... Strong, rhythmic text with vibrant graphic illustrations. Children will enjoy the surprising twist at the end!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's okay but the story is kinda meh and not that interesting or unique. Good to learn animal sounds I suppose.

[Kristal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book with repeating animal sounds. The illustrations remind me of Eric Carle’s.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit)]

Childrens' Picture Book

[Fatima Seraj Alam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the illustrations and the naughty crocodile who ends up munching the Lion King’s throne.

[Diana Salazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations! Had a formula that was pleasant then abandoned it… the ending was okay but only just okay…

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be a great parent child read for a child learning to make animal noises. The child could repeat the sound of the animal after it is read, or the child could guess what noise that animal made in the book. This book could also be good for pre-K or kindergarden independent read. The illustrations are unique as if water colors were used to poray the images. Funny ending makes the plot intresting and funny for a good read aloud.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crocodile is planning his next meal as all the jungle animals are making noises, but thanks to King Lion, crocodile's plans are foiled.

This book has a great rhythm as you read, so little kids could help keep the beat along with the animals as you read. Music teachers could use it to talk about rhythm and rhyme's importance to many songs. There's also lots of great onomatopoeia examples and some fun verbs for language class. Could also be used if you're studying African animals.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first time I ever read this book actually, so wasn't so sure about it at first. It turned out to be a pretty good read-aloud The toddlers could easily identify and count the animals on each page. They liked the page that simply said "SNAP!" and liked that the alligator snapped the lion king's chair instead of eating any animals!

[Emkoshka · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to the blurb, Gail Jorgenson wrote this with some of her primary school students back in the 1980s; what awesome fun they must've had and how proud they must be that their book is still doing the rounds. It's a fun, upbeat and noisy book with amazingly detailed tissue paper collage illustrations that had me wondering how on earth Patricia Mullins did it.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are very Eric Carle-like but their grandeur and size is greater. The story is lovely with a strong rhythm that asks to be sung out. Plenty of onomatopoeia for all the different animals and I like the style of illustrations which I would encourage children to try. Has a great ending and good use of pages to get the story flowing.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book, 5 year old daughter liked it. It does have written animal sounds in it, those always annoy me a little bit, but it works in this book. Some of the illustrations feel a bit dated, but most are great. Fast read and a moment of suspense at the end while you wonder which animal the crocodile 'got.' (None, which is probably good for the more sensitive reader)

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are so wonderfully textured, for a flat medium, that they give the animals a sense of movement and depth.

The story line is very suitable for kinder or early primary groups - especially for a little class acting.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15801...

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I read over and over to my son Jack when he was a young boy. He loved it and I loved reading it. The sweet rhyming of the story has stayed with me all these years. Hopefully you can find it. If not, check out YouTube..I just watched it. Happy me.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

great beat and rhythm. may be able to read aloud if skip the crocodile eating the animals part. he doesn't but the idea is plante.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful collage illustrations, lots of animals and noises/actions to act out, but a simple enough story for a family storytime.

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like the illustrations and the story was dull.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the rhythm of the story. Great read aloud.

[Kathy Hale · Rating 2 out of 5]

a well illustrated book that would be fun to read to a preschooler because the noises the jungle animals make in creating their parade. then comes the crocodile.