The crocodile who didn't like water

by Gemma Merino

(132 JEUNESSE)

Meet a most unusual crocodile!   Everybody knows that crocodiles love water, but this little crocodile is different—he doesn't like it at all! He tries to his best to change, but when attempt at swimming causes a shiver then a sneeze—could it be that this little crocodile isn't a crocodile at all? A hilarious and uplifting story about being yourself from a talented debut author-illustrator!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Dragons, Animals, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Gemma Merino was born in Spain. She studied children's illustration at the Cambridge School of Art in England and was awarded the Macmillan Prize for Children's Illustration in 2011, while completing her MA. She currently lives in London.

Reviews

[Franci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great story!!!! Loved the illustrations!!

[emanumela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tenero racconto sulla differenza e sulla scoperta del proprio posto nel mondo.

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un hermoso libro ilustrado donde nos enseña que todos somos diferentes y con capacidades distintas para disfrutar de la compañía de nuestros seres queridos y por supuesto de la vida. 😇😇❤️❤️

[Zeynab · Rating 4 out of 5]

تمساحی که از آب باری خوشش نمی‌آمد
ترجمه احمد تصویری
نشر میچکا


تصویرگری عالی
تمساحه گوگول گوگول‌ها بود.
متفاوت بود و همین تفاوتش با بقیه گوشه نشینش کرده بود، نگو خب کلا ذااش یه چیز دیگه است! تمساح نیست که داره خودشو برای اینکه مثل بقیه تمساح‌ها نیست اذیت می‌کنه.


مخصوصا من عاشق تفاوت تصویر اول و آخر شدم.
بین تخم‌های سبز، یه تخم سفید
و بین تخم‌های سفید یه تخم سبز
تمساحی که از آب بازی خوشش نمی‌آمد
اژدهایی که از آتش‌ خوشش نمی‌آمد

🤗 به طرز گوگولی خلاقانه و مفهومی

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new take on the Ugly Duckling, this picture book about not fitting in and finding your true talents. The story centres on a crocodile who doesn't like water, no matter how hard he tries! There is a surprising twist at the end, when the crocodile discovers why he doesn't like water and finds a way to be happy anyway.

This book is sure to make children laugh and will be a great starter for discussion about being different, the hidden talents the children have and how we can help each other. It would be enjoyed in a EYFS setting, as well as in Years 1 and 2. In KS2, you could ask pupils to write their own version of the story, using a different animal, such as the lion who couldn't roar.

[Rossy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and sweet!
This little crocodile didn't really fit in among his brothers: He didn't like water! He tries and tries, because he wants to play with them, but he truly hates water... But then, surprise! He sneezes and fire comes out! He is a dragon after all, not a crocodile!
Don't forget to check out the baskets on the first page and the last! It took me three times to notice them :P

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the narrative to the art style, The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water is a crowd-pleaser. Following a crocodile who has a fear of water, yet tries to overcome it at various points, this book offers a unique view on not only facing your fears but understanding why they exist as well. This book is perfect to be read out loud, thanks to its vibrant illustrations and design. The differentiation between our crocodile and the other crocodiles is subtle, yet apparent, and the contrast between reds and blues are necessary foreshadowing for what our crocodile discovers. Great for grades 1-4.

Review cross-listed here!

[Gloria Dauden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro precioso para niños pequeños (y para todos los demás ^^).
Para disfrutarlo y para iniciar conversaciones sobre los gustos y capacidades diferentes de cada uno ( e incluso sobre la adopción).
Estoy sacando libros de este estilo de la biblio para empaparme del estilo de cara a cosillas que voy a hacer en 2019 y este ha sido una grata sorpresa. :)

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Echt, je moet altijd doen wat bij je past

[Jenny France · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I enjoyed reading this book. There is a fun twist to the story. Great for kids who like reptiles and other reptilian like creatures! Creative.

[Joella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family of crocodiles played together in the water…except for one little crocodile. There was one who didn’t like water at all. He wanted to play with the rest of the family, but they liked playing in the water and he just didn’t enjoy being wet. Eventually the little crocodile bought a swim ring so he could stay floating while swimming. But even with a swimming ring it was hard to play with the rest of the family as they dove and splashed about. Eventually the crocodile decided to try swimming without the swim ring one last time…but he really didn’t like that. But then…something happened and the little crocodile realized that perhaps he wasn’t really made for swimming…and that just might be okay after all.

This is a great book! Seriously. I really liked this one. I loved how I had no idea where the story was going until I got there. I liked how the little crocodile kept trying to figure out ways to be with his family and to swim with them (since that is the one thing that they really, really like to do). I love how the illustrations are all greens and blues (for the crocodiles and the water) with just a few splashes of red (like the swim ring). And once I was finished reading the book I even loved the fun endpages and how they give a little extra tidbits for the story. All in all this is a fun book that I think would be really fun to read at story time. I would be interested to see what all the young kiddos think about this young crocodile and his aversion to water.

[Marfita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't resist stories about alligators and crocodiles.
At the beginning of this book we see a crocodile with a basket of eggs - all of them blue except one. Right away our little crocodile doesn't enjoy water, although all his siblings are enjoying their time in the bathtub. He enjoys climbing trees, but has no one to climb with him. He literally invests in a swim ring in order to play with the other crocodiles, but the ring impedes his play. The little crocodile gives it his best shot twice - when he finally discovers his true calling: he's a dragon! He grows and sprouts wings and takes his family for rides.
The endpapers show the dragon guarding a clutch of white eggs ... with one blue one ... and reading The dragon who didn't like fire.
This will be a nice alternative to Guji, Guji.
I may over-use "charming" when referring to illustrations, but this is yet another case where they apply. Keep your eyes peeled for the little snails!

[Kirsty Cabot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to Ivy 9/11/15

Such a lovely story with a strong moral message - no matter how hard you try sometimes you just don't enjoy the things everyone else does. But that's ok!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me completely by suprise.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

*heart eyes emoji*

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gemma Merinon "Krokotiili, joka inhosi vettä" (Tactic, 2014) on vinkeästi kuvitettu tarina krokotiilinpoikasesta, joka ei siskojensa ja veljiensä tavoin innostu vedessä telmimisestä. Lopussa lisko kuitenkin löytää oman juttunsa, koska onkin lohikäärme. Jäin silti vähän miettimään tarinan opetusta: onko suutarin pysyttävä lestissään, vai olisiko hyvä rikkoa rajoja? No, ei kai sitä ole pakko, jos ei halua ja inhottaa!

Satutunnilla tämä toimi mukavasti.

[Eliza Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet book about a crocodile who doesn't like swimming - little does he know he is a dragon!! I think year 1 children would love this story and would probably be best as a story at the end of the day as there is not particular meaning behind it.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is cute. I have it for my crocodile and alligator storytime but it would also be cute for a dragon storytime. In this book the little crocodile hates to swim but eventually finds out it is because he is a dragon.

[Preili Pipar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Küll see lugu võttis lõpus ikka muhelema. Tegemist looga pigem väiksematele lastele, aga lihtsalt nii hästi on lugu ja püänt kirja pandud, et ise ka muigad.
Ootan juba, et saaks lugeda lugu draakonist, kes ei armastanud tuld :D

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover

De titel alleen, samen met de schitterend cover, deed het hem al voor mij. Maar de kleinkinderen vonden hem ook geweldig. De schitterende prenten maken het boek nog aantrekkelijker.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story would be suitable for KS1 children, it has colourful illustrations and would be good as a class story to read before or after lunch or at the end of the day.

[Katalina Garrido · Rating 5 out of 5]

me dió mucha gracia jajaja

[p33€3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

he modificado mi tiktok para que finalmente mi algoritmo haga qye me salgan cuentos infantiles y estoy muuy contento

[glau ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

público alvo: 2 a 8 anos
eu com 29: soluçando de tanto chorar

[Olivera Vukašinović · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kao labudić među patkama u "Ružnom pačetu", tako se ovaj zmaj oseća među krokodilima. Ne voli vodu i ne želi da pliva. Mnogo smeha, dosta ozbiljnih tema za razmišljanje. O identitetu, pripadanju, prihvatanju, razliitosti i nitima koje nas sve povezuju.

[Jaimie Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful story with an uplifting message about being true to yourself while still being brave enough to take on new challenges. This book uses a variety of conjunctions, in particularly ‘and’ and ‘but’. It provides plenty of opportunities to model negative sentence structures (e.g. he didn’t like). It also contains many verbs (e.g. swim, play).

[Lia Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

excelente libro para niños, sobre todo porque a veces me siento mal y necesito leer cosas como estas

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture Book Favorites

Cute story with a twist and nice pictures. Recommended!

[Diana Catarina Bezerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! So much so that I used it in an English class with my students.
The message is very important and the illustrations are great!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable! But how did he get mixed up? Poor little fella!