Crocodile Listens

Sayre, April Pulley

ISBN 10: 0688165052 ISBN 13: 9780688165055

Publisher: Greenwillow, 2001

Synopsis

As the sounds of the many animals fill the air, Mother Crocodile is focused on listening for the calls of her newborn young as her hatchlings emerge from their home deep in the sand.

About this title

About the Author:

April Pulley Sayre is the author of numerous books for children, including If You Should Hear a Honey Guide, which was named "the outstanding natural history book of 1995" by Smithsonian Magazine. April Pulley Sayre lives with her husband in South Bend, Indiana.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 3-A crocodile waits and listens, ignoring the giraffes thumping by, the warthogs tromping, and the croaking frog that would make a wonderful snack. Finally, she hears her babies' cries and she digs them out of the sand so they can hatch. Using beautifully simple language ("Like an ancient dinosaur/with scraggly teeth-"), Sayre introduces information about the Nile crocodile while maintaining the immediacy of a story. Suspense adds to the narrative: "She has not eaten for weeks.-/Yet for some reason,/she only listens." Stammen's illustrations have an almost photographic reality at times, perfectly portraying the fierceness with which the mother guards her babies, and the gentle way she cracks an eggshell between her enormous teeth to help release the infant trapped inside. The animal sounds integrated into the text will make this a hit at storytimes, and an endnote gives additional facts about the Nile crocodile.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0688165052
• ISBN 13: 9780688165055
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 24
• Illustrator: Stammen JoEllen McAllister