Where's Your Smile, Crocodile? [Hardcover]

Claire Freedman (Author), Sean Julian (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

What’s a young crocodile to do when he wakes up and his smile is gone? When Kyle the Crocodile wakes up feeling grumpy, his mother says, "Looks like you lost your smile, Kyle. Why don’t you go out and play? You’ll soon find it again." So Kyle sets out into the jungle, hoping to find his smile. All his friends greet him with the same question, "Where’s your smile, Crocodile?" and do their best to cheer Kyle up.

Claire Freedman’s gentle story is enhanced by fun, bold illustrations by Sean Julian. While young readers are enjoying the antics of Kyle’s jungle friends, they will learn an important lesson about helping others. This story will soon have adults as well as children asking, "Where’s YOUR smile, Crocodile?"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young Kyle the crocodile has lost his smile. "Why don't you go out and play? You'll soon find it again," says his mother. But nothing works, even though British artist Julian's acrylic-rendered jungle brims with flamboyant hues and Kyle encounters a triumvirate of animal hilarity: a screeching scarlet and sapphire parrot, an orange monkey with a repertoire of funny faces and a huge pink elephant who can squirt a fire-hose worth of water from its trunk. Freedman (Tiggy Tiger) even provides the trio with vivid sound effects ("Burble! Burble! Burble!" blasts Elephant, blowing bubbles in the water). But when Kyle stumbles upon another curmudgeon in the form of a lost lion cub, he not only expertly runs through all the comedy tricks learned from his animal neighbors, he also reunites the cub with his mother. Freedman and Julian's lesson of finding joy by stepping outside one's own troubles isn't new, but it's lightly proffered and colorfully imagined. Ages 2-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reS-K-Kyle the Crocodile wakes up grumpy one morning, and his mother encourages him to go out and play. All the animals in the jungle notice, too, that he's lost his smile, and they try to cheer him up. Parrot screeches wildly, Orange Monkey makes funny faces, and Elephant blows water bubbles, but nothing works. Forlornly plodding through the jungle creepers and lotus blossoms, the little reptile comes upon a lion cub that has lost his way home. Kyle tries to cheer up the little cub with the same tactics his friends used on him as they make their way home. In the process, Kyle's smile reappears on his face-right where it belongs. The message of finding happiness by helping someone else will not be lost on young listeners. The large format and Julian's vibrant, splashy illustrations of the endearing jungle animals will capture children's attention, making this a good choice for storyhours.

Patti Gonzales, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Pub Ltd; 1st edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561452513
• ISBN-13: 978-1561452514
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,612,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My crocodile found his smile, November 11, 2002

By 

3D watcher "phera" (Bryan, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where's Your Smile, Crocodile? (Hardcover)

A new favorite! My two year old loved the rolling words, repetition, and the story. After each page, he'd ask "Where's your smile crocodile?" Then, the story gets better when Kyle helps the little lion cub find his way home.

Great illustrations and story - I have to read this daily or else my little one will lose his smile.

5.0 out of 5 stars My little crocodile thinks the story is about him!, November 23, 2011

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Where's Your Smile, Crocodile? (Paperback)

My little "crocodile", Kyle, thinks the story is about him! He and his big sister love the story and illustrations. Both love helping Kyle crocodile find his smile. Mom loves the lesson behind the story! It's one of our favorite stories, we actually decided to give it out as a birthday favor for Kyle's birthday. Enjoy!