HORIZONTAL CROCODILE

A very long crocodile prepares for a visit from his very long (or so he thinks) friend.

The titular reptile lives in “a nice, loooooooong swamp, in a nice, loooooooong house,” where he brushes his teeth with “a nice, loooooooong toothbrush,” and so on. When his best friend, Horizontal Alligator, phones and announces that he’s coming for a visit, Horizontal Crocodile realizes that he must get his place ready for company. Spotting “a scary, loooooooong centipede,” he leaps onto the couch—and breaks it. Time to purchase a new “nice, loooooooong couch” that his friend can sit on. After all that, and in a twist for the ages, Horizontal Alligator shows up with a surprise for his host: Horizontal Alligator has learned how to walk on two feet and has changed his name to…Vertical Alligator. Now how is Horizontal Crocodile supposed to entertain his guest? Fortunately, he has a brilliant solution. (It involves a basketball and makes use of a gatefold page.) Underneath all the silliness and visual gags lies a good message about rolling with the unexpected and adapting to change. Won’s illustrations tend to span two pages in order to accommodate the dimensions unique to Horizontal Crocodile, whose scaly, ribbonlike green body moves gracefully through his reptile-colored world. A seek-and-find bonus: The loooooooong but tiny red centipede that caused so much trouble is hiding in plain sight in every illustration.

A great idea with even better execution.