The croc who rocked by Laura Casella

Starfish Publishing, 2018. ISBN: 9781760360528.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Crocodiles, Humour, Acceptance, Friendship, Difference. A clutch of crocodile eggs, deep in the jungle, hatch and each little crocodile goes its own way, scampering off into the bushes. But one little crocodile loves to bop. Happy, he snaps his jaws and sings loudly, the noise echoing around though quiet jungle. The other animals are not happy, and tell him to be quiet. As he grows so his snaps becomes much louder, but still no one is impressed, so he slides into the water and goes away. Two little birds land on his tail looking for some big teeth to clean, and in talking to the sad and lonely crocodile decide to teach him how to tweet so that the other animals are not upset. The others accept him happily, joining in with his new sounds, making tweets through the jungle. Croc is so happy that he forgets his new sound and reverts to his old snappy sound, and once again, the other animals reject him.
Singing sadly to himself, other crocodiles come around him, impressed with the sounds he is making, and wanting to know where he learnt them. Croc is happy again, with his new friends, singing along with them, and teaching them his sounds. He has found a group of friends who accept him for who he is.
A neatly resolved tale of acceptance and finding your place, this book with its striking cut out illustrations will entice eager readers to try the techniques for themselves, with paper, scissors, paint and sponges. I love the repetition of the crocodile on the endpapers, which will fascinate the younger readers as well as the sprinkling of a few facts about crocodiles.
Fran Knight