Princess Cora and the Crocodile

The first time I read this book aloud to my children, I did not think either of them would enjoy it. My little girl was only 3 and I feared it was over her head, and my son was 9 years old and only interested in crude humor and Minecraft. But the three of us found a comfortable spot and I read it with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Lo and behold, they BOTH loved it! I couldn't believe it! Actually, yes I can, because the story is entirely charming and I found myself unable to stop until the story was finished. Even though my voice was getting a little horse at the end, the kids were so into it that I had to push on. When I finally finished, my little daughter whispers "That was such a good book!" and my son immediately grabbed it so he could re-read it on his own. The fact that both of my kids like this - despite their 6 year age gap, and despite them liking such different things - speaks volumes about the quality of the book. And as a parent, I love it that the story is text-rich but also beautifully illustrated in color. I wish there were more books like this. In fact, I'm buying multiple copies as gifts!

Amazing

Ich habe dieses Buch gekauft, weil die Geschichte eine Prinzessin gegen das Klischee zu porträtieren schien. Aber ich war entsetzt, all die grausamen Dinge zu entdecken, die das Krokodil gemacht hat. Ich habe versucht, es meiner Tochter einmal vorzulesen und sie hatte absolut Angst und bat mich, es wegzuwerfen.

Cora, who is a Very Good Girl, winds up with something she doesn’t want but truly needs: a Very Bad Crocodile! Full of joy and silliness and mischief and mayhem, it also teaches some deep and wise lessons about knowing and feeling one’s own feelings, and having the courage to speak up for one’s own needs, even when the people in charge, who are supposed to be wise, don’t want to listen. Something many children may need to hear — and may be a few grownups, too! I would recommend this for all young readers. The language may be a little advanced for age 4, depending on the child, but the ideas and the illustrations will still carry the story; the language in the concepts could probably be interesting up through age 7 or 8, because there is enough to take from the story and the pictures as a jumping off point for further conversation. The mad, bad, wild, butt-biting crocodile also adds enough interest for any children who, on the face of it, might resist a story that seems to be about a nice princess. On the negative side, it’s unfortunate that this is yet another children’s book that seems to show the world as consisting only of Caucasian people. The princess & castle type of story takes place in a fantasy Early Europe, when “European” was synonymous with “Caucasian.” So the author is just being consistent with this. Still, if we can imagine talking, magic crocodiles, maybe we can imagine less homogenous human characters in our contemporary books. This may be a consideration for families, like ours, that seek diversity in their reading.

It struck me as odd that the reviews on the book cla it as hilarious. I must have a poor sense of humour. This book wasn't funny or enjoyable for myself or my 5yo. We both found it dry.