Suddenly Alligator: An Adverbial Tale

by Rick Walton, Jim Bradshaw (Illustrator)

A young boy meets a hungry alligator. Throw in mistaken identity and a pair of stinky socks, and you have all the fun and surprise of the fabulous new picture book Suddenly Alligator. In his usual engaging way, author Rick Walton tells an entertaining story while also teaching language arts concepts to children. A great addition to Walton's line of language arts picture books, Suddenly Alligator is a rollicking little tale. With the superb illustrations and creative vision of Jim Bradshaw, this is a book you won't want to miss!
Rick Walton is the author of dozens of books for kids, including his popular books introducing language arts Once There Was a Bullfrog (which teaches adjectives, comparatives, and superlatives), Why the Banana Split (which teaches synonyms and idioms) and Herd of Cows Flock of Sheep (which teaches collective nouns).
Jim Bradshaw received his degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He lives with his wife and three children in New Jersey, where he works as a graphic designer. He also does freelance design and illustrator.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2001

About the author

Born and raised in Utah, Walton is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church. He served as a missionary to Brazil from 1976 to 1978, soon after he graduated from high school. Later, at Brigham Young University, he became president of the Brazil Club. In 1980, he graduated from Brigham Young with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.

Walton's education continued after he obtained his degree. In 1980, he went back to Brigham Young for one semester of graduate work in business, but chose not to follow that career path. Deciding to become a teacher, he earned certification in elementary education from Brigham Young in 1987, as well as certification to teach gifted and talented students. Up to that point, he had held a number of jobs, including a year with the parks and recreation department of Provo, Utah. In 1987, he began teaching sixth grade at a local public school, then switched to a private school.

Also interested in computers, Walton would later publish several items of software. He left teaching to accept a position as software designer for IBM in 1989. In 1994, he turned to freelance software design and writing. He also returned to Brigham Young University once again, this time to earn his master's degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.

Walton's wife, Ann, with whom he has written many of his books, is a computer programmer. They were married in 1983, and have five children. With Dumb Clucks! and Something's Fishy! in 1987, the Waltons began writing books.

Reviews

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super cute book and a super cute way to learn about adverbs.

* Talking Points - Can your write your own story with a ton of adverbs. Or write a story with a ton of adjectives? The Alligator pursued the boy with persistence. Have you ever had a problem that was persistent about sticking with you? How did you solve the problem? Or, how do you cope with it if you haven't solved it?

* Essential Oil Pairing Tip: I'd put on doTERRA's Thinker Essential Oil Blend - it's great for children (and adults) when were trying to solve complex problems and need our brain to function at it's best.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walton, Rick Suddenly Alligator: an adverbial tale PICTURE BOOK Gibbs Smith –

A young boy walks through the swamp in quest of a new pair of socks. Along with other discoveries, he encounters an alligator intent on making the boy his next meal. The author places each adverb at the end of the sentence add emphasis, helping younger readers enjoy the lesson. Middle or high school grammar and writing teachers could use this book to show how using a wide variety of adverbs enhances writing MIGHTILY.

EL, MS, HS – ADVISABLE

[Libbie Huhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for teaching children about adverbs. It could be used in a classroom setting and it is very easy to understand. The story itself wasn't very interesting to me, but it was not that bad of a book. I could use this book in a classroom to get students thinking about adverbs, and it would be a good book to have them do activities such as keeping track of the adverbs mentioned or coming up with their own.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one. The storyline is cute, pictures are silly, but I just could not see how it would do anything except confuse kids when trying to teach them adverbs. Having said that, maybe someone else would have better luck with it, so 3 stars.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story! The children in my class really enjoyed Suddenly Alligator. At first I tried to emphasize the adjectives, but after a while we decided to just enjoy the story. We read it a second time and this time every time they heard an adjective, they repeated it in a choral response.

We are trying to remember to include adjectives in our paragraphs. This was a good reminder.

Apparently Rick Walton has some other books about parts of speech. Definitely want to check those out!

Writing idea: Re-write the sentences in this book to make -ly openers!

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

After three months of wearing the same old pair of stinky socks, a young boy decides it’s time for a new pair. On his way into town, he takes the scenic route through a swamp. Within the swamp, he encounters several surprises.

The pictures are colorful and the language fits very well with the illustrations. A cute story to teach language concepts. The content is appropriate for the intended age level and the illustrations help create the meaning of the text that will appeal to children

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly storyline that emphasized adverbs, this book could supplement a lesson on adverbs that students might remember. (That and the L-Y song...) http://www.songsforteaching.com/tomle...

[Katy Houseman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a silly book about adverbs. The adverbs used in the story are well recognized with bold lettering, which is great. I would use this book to teach adverbs in my classroom. I really think children who enjoy humor and alligators will enjoy this book even more.

[Alexander The Triumphant · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, a boy is going to get new shoes, and picks up things. An alligator goes after him, and his socks save his life. I like this book because the boy doesn't get eaten, and instead his shoe comes off instead of him going into the alligator's mouth. -by Alexander

[Katrina Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content:
- adverbs
- writing mechanics
- word study


Easy to identify the adverbs because they are in bold letters

Students: 2nd grade- 3rd grade

Discuss:
- Dangerous animals
- Hygenine

This book is a fun way to learn what adverbs are; the story is humorous

[Jayden Purser · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was super fun to make fun of this childrens book, because its for chidren and the logic didn't have to make sense, but it was about a kid who was playing golf, hit his ball a ways away, and then found an alligator....

[Read Ribbet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever story that illustrates the use of interesting adverbs in context. Good for writing mechanics and word study.

[Serena West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute kids book.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent for storytime!

[Gaylene · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of Rick Walton's books are worth reading. This one is my favorite of his.