Bill and Pete to the Rescue

Bill and Pete

by Tomie dePaola

When Little Jane Allison Crocodile is kidnapped by the Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother from Louisiana, Bill and his bird buddy Pete head to the rescue. But Pete gets caught by the Rich Lady and it's up to Bill to save the day. Kids and parents everywhere will love Tomie dePaola's hilarious new episode featuring the Egyptian pair's first visit to the United States.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Egypt, Animals, Adventure, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 1998

About the author

Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POW-la) was best known for his books for children.

He had a five-decade writing and illustrating career during which he published more than 270 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

Reviews

[Homewood Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill's cousin, Little Jane Allison Crocodile, has been kidnapped by the Big Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother from Louisiana! It is up to Bill and Pete to travel all the way from the Nile to New Orleans to save her. Too bad Pete gets captured by the Rich Lady who wants him for her very own pet. Lucky for them, a whole bunch of alligators live in the Louisiana Bayou, and they are happy to form a rescue mission. ~Ms. Heather, 2009

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My little kids (3 and 5) loved Bill and Pete, so of course they love this sequel! In this one, little Jane Allison Crocodile is kidnapped, so Bill (a Nile crocodile) and his toothbrush Pete (a bird) go the the rescue! Jane Allison turns out to have been taken by the Bad Guy's brother - all the way to America! Bill the crocodile teams up with some American cousins (Louisiana bayou alligators!) to save the day, with Pete's help!

[Amanda Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was confused at the beginning of the book, especially when Bill announced that Pete was his toothbrush. I had to read the page 4 times until I just moved on. It was a cute story though, and I liked that the southern hospitality came through in the alligators speech. (Picture Book)

[Abdulla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't a big fan of the book because I feel like there better alternatives. The story didn't really interest me as much and it didn't really bring anything new to the plate. The only thing I enjoyed was the illustrations and that was all.

[Ren Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a very fun storyline and a great use of color throughout the images. For new beginners it is cool to have images that include details that are not included in the dialogue which helps the reader hone their skills of including the images into their interpretation of the story.

[Kaylin Azevedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are very vibrant drawings and on the realistic side. With a touch of fantasy being that animals are "to the rescue." The story is about a crocodile named Bill headed to rescue some of his friends who are other animals being taken to the US. The voice we here is Bill's voice.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book of the Bill and Pete series does not disappoint. There is just something lovable about a crocodile and his "toothbrush" and the Bad Guys they encounter are pretty awesome too. Timeless classics for kids.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill is a crocodile, and his best friend Pete is his toothbrush (and also a bird). His dad is a suitcase. Off-the-wall humor and adventure. I liked Bubba the bayou alligator. I loved the unexpected happy ending.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Bill and Pete as a child but Bill and Pete to the rescue was meh. I did like the gators from Louisiana.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Bill and Pete books are just so bad...... Love Strega Nona though!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart leapt when Bill met this other crocodile.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa followed the story very carefully.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painful to read. He’s such a popular author and has so many books to his credit…but maybe he should stick to biographies because I cringed when my kid asked me to read this one a second time. Ugh. 😩

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful kids’ book taking place in New Orleans.

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conor randomly picked this off the shelf. It was ok.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill the alligator and Pete his toothbrush bird friend were best friends. They lived on the Nile River. One day Pete's little cousin Jane was captured and taken away on a ship to the USA. Bill and Pete decided they had to rescue her. This is a story of adventure and bravery and even a big surprise at the end. Great illustrations.
I used this book for the summer part of the 52BookClub 2023 reading challenge, prompt "Pick Your Road Trip Buddies: a best friend."

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third and most recent addition to the Bill and Pete series by Tomie dePaola. It begins with the kidnapping of Bill's cousin, Little Jane Allison Crocodile. Bill and Pete decide to rescue her from the Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother who is taking her and a bunch of other Egyptian animals to the United States. They stow away aboard The Cleopatra where Pete helps a Rich Lady who thanks him by locking him up in a cage.

When they arrive in the US, Bill swims and swims until he meets Antoine Pierre Alligator (aka Bubba) in the Decatur Bayou in Louisiana. The 'gators help Bill free Little Jane and the other animals. Meanwhile, in the Garden District of the city, Pete eventually escapes and finds Bill and the 'gators. Together they are able to save Bill's PAPA!!!

The Rich Lady sends all of the animals back home, first class, and the family is reunited once more.

It's a sweet, funny story. The series is best told with one book right after the other, in order. In each the illustrations tell more of the story in a very humorous way, just as the best picture books do.

[Jorie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Bill is a crocodile from the Nile and Pete is “his toothbrush”. Bill’s cousin gets taken by the same people who took Bill’s father, and supposedly made him into a suit case, Bill and Pete hop on the first ship to America. They go to Florida and team up with a whole group of alligators to save Bill’s cousin. They find her a lot of other exotic animals in this zoo. All the animals are freed and sent back to their native home. Bill finds his father with his cousin and they all go home together.
Response: This story had a sweet tone to it and has a cute definition of friendship. I love the artwork because it is so simple. It would be great to have students draw their own illustrations for this story

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book starring Bill and Pete by Tomie dePaola. We enjoyed reading all three, but I think perhaps this one was our favorite. I remember this one specifically from my childhood, especially the ending. Our girls love the illustrations and the comical Bad Guy (and his big brother, too!) We are always searching for more books by Tomie dePaola that we haven't yet read, and thankfully he is such a prolific writer - we still have many more to read!

[Taylor Nolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although this book is about a crocodile with human characteristics, the orientation of the book is portrait. I believe this is because it is showing the journey of a crocodile, and all the scenery along the way. All of the images in this book were bordered. However, the images were different sizes and shapes, and in different places to create variety. The same color pallet was used throughout the book. I did not enjoy the story of this book, but the illustrations made it more interesting.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the first opening of the book, we are given a bit of foreshadowing towards what will happen in the story. The author appears to have used some sort of ink or maybe watercolors to create the illustrations. The author uses landscape style images to compliment the shape of the alligator, Bill. Every page consists of one or more bordered images, usually accompanies by plain type-face. The color scheme is fairly bright, and exotic colors to add to the fun of the story and also to the settings.

[8feetahead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes on the list of books my 5 year old son adores that I think is completely ridiculous. I guess when you are 5 completely ridiculous crocodiles make for great stories. It's full of adventure; boats, bad-guys and a bit of mischief.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Everett and Pete are Jaxon's favorite guys. This is a great book for reading aloud, and with the great pictures, one won't mind reading it over and again [or having it read TO ONE over and over].
Even little guys can accomplish great things.

[Alia GoinHam · Rating 4 out of 5]

this books was measured on freind if you want to study the athority of freinds read this book

[Shuntia Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to mystery loving children. I would also use this book to teach prediction as a teacher.

[Limeminearia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture book perfection!

[Suburban Homeschooler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit long, but might be my favorite of the three.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five-year-old is obsessed. Need I say more?

[Oona · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story about an adventure to america; a glimpse of imperialism - the "bad guy" represents the american capitalist.

[Christine]

Pros: theme of letting wild animals be wild (bird is quite sad when placed in cage, etc.)

Cons: reinforces typical gender roles (mom wishes dad were around to rescue kidnapped animals)