GUS

In this Australian import, a shared birthday leads to a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

Gus the crocodile loves performing for the zoo’s many visitors, “splashing and snapping for the cameras,” but his favorite guest is pale-skinned young Edward. While visiting the reptile enclosure on his birthday, Edward witnessed Gus hatch from his egg, and since then, he’s returned each year so the two can celebrate their big day together. When he grows up, Edward becomes a zookeeper who works at the reptile house, and he continues to visit on their birthday even after he retires. Though both are slowing down in their old age (Gus often feels “too tired to splash and snap,” while Edward complains of his aching hip), their bond endures. Until the day Edward fails to show up on their birthday. Worried, Gus sets out for Edward’s retirement home and discovers that his pal hasn’t forgotten about him, but he’s physically unable to make the trek to the zoo. An understanding nursing home attendant offers a solution, bringing Murray’s quiet friendship tale to a satisfying close. Serageldine’s soft, hazy illustrations anthropomorphize the title character with aplomb; big-eyed Gus sports a diaper after hatching and wears orange swimming trunks as an adult. Sight gags—Gus getting tangled in a retirement home resident’s knitting as he surreptitiously attempts to find Edward, Edward’s crocodile-covered jammies—infuse this sentimental tale with humor.

A tender tribute to birthdays and friendship—two things that only get better with age.