From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1—Four crocodile pals are bored with being cooped up inside, so they outfit themselves for the inclement weather and set off. They spy a pirate ship, whale, and monster in the distance, but when the fog lifts, they find that "this scary place" is actually a mini-golf park and they decide to play. The action is conveyed in short declarations: "'Smack it!' said Sam. 'Putt it!' said Pam. 'Hit it!' said Will. 'Lost it!' said Jill." Next, a shaggy black dog with a ball in its mouth approaches, and the friends begin an impromptu baseball game (using an umbrella as a bat). When they realize that a torrent of fly balls is actually a hailstorm, the clever canine leads the way to safety in a library. The crocs settle in with books related to their favorite adventures of the day. Nash's bright, expansive cartoons, crisply outlined in black pencil, detail the exploits of these befuddled reptiles. A lively offering packed with child appeal.—
Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
This third energetic story starring gator pals Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill is as ideally pitched for prereaders (or brand-new ones) as its predecessors
Snow Day! (2002) and
Beach Day! (2004). Cooped up by a rainstorm, the friends complain, then come to a zany consensus: "Nothing to make. Nothing to bake. Nothing to paint. Nothing to play. LET'S GO OUTSIDE ANYWAY!" And so they do, braving the damp in funky, retro raingear, until a hailstorm forces them to seek a safe haven--at the public library. Though the somewhat chaotic story goes on too long, Lakin's use of alliteration, rhyme, and repeated vowel sounds will help listeners build toward tackling it on their own, and Nash's giddy, pastels buoy the text's primerlike aspects with just-for-fun details, such as the characters' use of umbrellas as golf clubs and baseball bats. Share this during springtime downpours, when its concluding celebration of the library's coziness will be particularly apropos.
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
