Customer Reviews

Gator

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was at Border's this afternoon and happened to see this book displayed on a table (I was drawn to it because of the cover - the illustrations are GREAT). I sat down and read it while my daughter was running around in the the kids section. This is such a sweet, cool story! I love the idea of the carousel animal hopping down to check out the world when kids stop coming around, I love the hole in his heart idea, and the duck with the wings up at the end was the final clincher. I would recommend this book to any parent, or if you are looking for a great book to give as a gift - this is the one!

Randy Cecil's GATOR tells of a carousel animal who loves his job - but fewer and fewer people come to the amusement park, and one day Gator must leave his familiar home and journey to a place with real alligators. His journey will take him to a world very different than his artificial park home and will even lead him to become a hero in this smooth story of a carousel animal's search for a new occupation and home.

We love the companion book, Duck, so we decided to get Gator. It is just as great and has a nice story line. My daughter enjoys it, and the illustrations are great.

Publisher's Weekly is very cynical in calling the ending of this "maudlin." My daughter is 4 years old and was very concerned about lonely Gator. Of course it's easy to predict what will happen, as an adult, but to see the smile on her face at the end shows the true value of this story. Again, Randy Cecil proves himself as one of the best illustrators in the business. You will not be disappointed with this excellent book!