After a While, Crocodile

Brad Sneed has illustrated almost 20 picture books, some of which he has also written. His titles include Deputy Harvey and the Ant Cow Caper; Aesop’s Fables; and When Wishes Were Horses. He lives in Kansas.

Getting ready for school can be fun so “rise and shine, porcupine.” Follow a mother and daughter’s playful rhyming exchanges as they get ready for their day. Lift the page-wide flaps to see the daughter or mother portrayed as the animal mentioned in their conversation. Some flaps lift upward and some downward. Once the daughter is at school, a series of pictures across the layout reflect the passage of time at school followed by another layout showing the mother’s chain of activities during the day. The story comes to an end when the daughter comes home and the pair share rhyming greetings. A few creatures (i.e. binturong, okapi, and aye-aye) may be less familiar; however, the gentle colored illustrations lend support in identifying the animals. The text is in speech bubbles. The front end pages highlight the animals mentioned in the story; the back end pages also show the animals from the story and include brief descriptions. Children will enjoy the rhyming words, humor, and fanciful pictures. Teachers will probably like to include this in their read aloud collection.