CROCODILE, CROCODILE

by Peter Nickl ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1976

This German import comes decked with awards from Europe, but the chic, airless surrealism of the pictures and the polished faux-naivete of the rhyme are in a mode that finds less favor here. The text, relegated to the corners of dead-still, totally discrete scenes, on dusky-toned pages ranging from decadent plum to chilly blue, concerns a crocodile who takes a boat and a train to Paris in search of the ""crocodile store."" Unaware of the terror he inspires along the way, he arrives only to discover that the merchandise is not for his kind but of it. ""Very, very mad,"" he retaliates by gobbling up the stylish customer at the counter (""Since you're/ so fond/ of crocodile/ skin,/ how would/ you like/ to get/ right in?"") Not without flak, the whole sophisticated presentation partakes too much of the sterile elegance it spoofs to relate to a picture book audience. See review

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1976

ISBN: 0940793326

Page Count: -

Publisher: Tundra--dist. by Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1976

Categories: CHILDREN'S