Croco'nile

by Roy Gerrard

A romp through ancient Egypt, with hieroglyphics, too!

Set sail for adventure with Hamut and his sister Nekatu as they stow away on a sailboat, paint a pyramid, and win the favor of a pharoah. But when conniving kidnappers threaten the pair, they discover that a crocodile in need is a friend indeed!

Genres: Picture Books, Egypt, History, Ancient History, Childrens, School, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Xemilyx]

A brother and sister stow away on a ship, become famous artists, get kidnapped, and survive a shipwreck. The heavily textured illustrations are covered in beautiful patterns inspired by Ancient Egyptian art. (The patterns remind me of illustrators Sophie Blackall and Barbara McClintock.) And there are hidden messages written in heiroglyphics! The lighthearted text is brief, about a sentence per page. The rhymes mostly scan and include some choice words, but it's the illustrations that capture the spirit of adventure.

[Heather]

My kids liked it, but I thought it rather silly. As in little information and not sure it was worth the time to read.

The illustrations were lovely though. I doubt we'll read it again.

[R. G. Nairam]

what

[Diane]

“In ancient Egypt long ago,
Beside the River Nile,
A brother and a sister
Found a baby crocodile.”

Thus begins the story of Hamut and Nikatu as they stow away on a sailboat, paint a pyramid and win the favor of the Pharoah.

Great, detailed illustrations. A key to hieroglyphics in the back.

[Alicia Thompson]

We read this as it was recommended in The Story of the World, Vol. 1, lesson we were in. I've gotten in for both my kids as the right stage and it's been a favorite of both. Easy to get through in one sitting.

[Emily Cook]

"I like how the crocodile saved the kids and I like how they became really good artists." Eldon
"I like how the boy was really good at nailing the stone and making good stuff." Peter

[Bat713]

Fun trip through ancient Egypt .

[Jenna Mills]

Sweet

[Des]

love how this let us take a peek on several ancient egyptian arts 🫶🏼

[Sasha]

This is hard to classify. On one hand, I really enjoyed the illustrations - to a degree. The people felt disproportionate, sometimes flat, sometimes three-dimensional, but always off. Whereas the hieroglyphs, anubis heads, and papyrus plants were totally on point. Also, the croc doesn't really figure into the story until the bitter end, despite being the titular namesake. Overall, I don't know what the point of the story was. I learned nothing, enjoyed little, and left with more questions than satisfaction.

[Amy]

2.5 stars. This Roy Gerrard book isn't as fun as Rosie and the Rustlers, or as heartwarming as Mik's Mammoth, but it's still an enjoyable enough read. Might be especially so for kids who are little artists, or who like ancient Egyptian "stuff."

[The Brothers]

A fun story of ancient Egypt. A brother and sister befriend a crocodile along the Nile. One day they decide to hide in a ship and get carried away before they can get off. When they are put ashore, the family taking care of them helps them discover their artistic talents and they become very famous. Some people try to kidnap them, but when the Nile waters crash the ship, their friend the crocodile saves them and returns them home.

Really good illustrations - nicely detailed.

[Diana]

Ummm...not really sure what to make of this one. Little kids run away from home, become expert artists and darlings of the court, get kidnapped to be sold as slaves, and then are rescued and taken home by their pet crocodile. All within the span of one flood season for the Nile. WHAT??? I'm sorry, but no. Just...no.

[Heidi-Marie]

The story was all right. Reminds me of books from my childhood. I enjoyed the illustrations more than the story. But this isn't quite what I'm looking for to read aloud in my age 4-7 storytime Egypt theme this summer. But it may be worth having on display.

[Shannon D. Hall]

Great story to share with your children when learning about Egyptian history. Incredible illustrations, rhyming pattern for easy ready & even has a little hieroglyphics table to decipher some ancient Egyptian writings.

[Betsey]

I loved the illustrations. The story was fine, but the detailed pictures plus various historical details (eg flooding of the Nile) and the hieroglyphic translation challenge make it a pretty cool book!

[Suzanne]

Very cute- two children in Egypt find their talents and put them to use. We all liked this one.

[Jaeger Matthias]

medium school book

[Teri]

Cutsy rhyming story--wouldn't waste my time with this one again.

[Gina]

Written in rhythmic verse with fabulously detailed illustrations

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

Cute little book ;)

[Tim Brown]

I love the illustrations in this book. I also love rhyming stories in general (especially with good meter) and this one does not disappoint!

[Samra]

Beautiful illustrations. I love the hidden messages in hieroglyphics. The Crocodile was a cool pet.

[Dustee]

It was happy.

[Marisa]

fabulous illustrations!

[Gemma]

Illustrations are better than the story.