Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
Reviewed by Children’s Book List
Lyle the crocodile lives in a house on East 88th Street in New York City. He likes it there, and his hosts, the Primms, like having him around–he helps young Joshua with his homework, jumps-rope with the neighborhood kids, and browses through antique shops with Mrs. Primm. Much to the affable reptile’s dismay, however, he makes his neighbor’s cat Loretta crazy, which in turn makes Mr. Grumps, Loretta’s owner, even crazier. One day, Mrs. Primm and Lyle are shopping, when Lyle–through no real fault of his own–ends up infuriating department-store bigwig Mr. Grumps who turns red and blue and purple with rage. This unfortunate eruption lands the rollicking reptile in the Central Park zoo where Lyle fights back his crocodile tears. In an elaborate sequence of events, Lyle finds himself back with the Primms on East 88th Street, a neighborhood hero, and, startlingly, even a friend of the mistrustful cat Loretta.
Rating: 5 *****
How anyone could not like Lyle is beyond me. This is a good book to teach that you can’t please everyone and just be the best person you can be.
So he put on all his Fine Clothes, and went out for a walk in the Jungle. And by and by he met a Tiger. And the Tiger said to him, “Little Babaji, I’m going to eat you up!” And Little Babaji said, “Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don’t eat me up, and I’ll give you my beautiful little Red Coat.”So goes this classic tale of a boy who outwits the proud tigers in the jungle, a story of courage and pancakes.
Rating: *****
You may remember this story as Little Black Sambo. It’s the same story without the controversial drawings and names. The story does an amazing job at showing kids how to be cleaver when dealing with bullies. In this case tigers. Your preschooler will love the repetition with each tiger visit. Oddly, I remember it differently as a child though. For some reason I only remember one tiger and them sharing pancakes.
Don’t let that frilly pink dress fool you. Bootsie Barker is one tough cookie, and she makes life miserable for another little girl whose mother said she has to learn to get along with all kinds of people.
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Rating: *****
Whether your child has a problem with a bully or not this is a wonderful book that shows how one child stands up to the bully and wins through creativity and wit. It’s another great book to open up discussions with your preschooler.
