Carnegie and Greenaway Awards: Solomon Crocodile
Poor Solomon is looking for some fun but no one wants to play. The dragonflies tell him to buzz off, the storks get in a flap, and the hippo? Well, the less said about the hippo, the better! But then somebody else starts causing trouble . . . and for once it is NOT Solomon. Could it be the perfect pal for a lonely crocodile?
Solomon wants to play, but instead he ends up annoying the other animals. Solomon is sad. But then he starts to hear the other animals shouting, and this time it isn’t at him. Has Solomon found the perfect friend? And what will the other animals think of that?
This is a truly lovely picture book; the pictures are very simple but tell the story so well. The story is also very simple, told in very short sentences. This makes it perfect for very young children, yet I had a class full of 12 year olds entranced when this was read to them. The fact that Solomon causes trouble and doesn’t make any apologies for it is very appealing to children of all ages. This doesn’t have a moral message in the same way that some books aimed at children do, but it doesn’t suffer for that and in some ways this approach is quite refreshing.
Verdict: Simple and attractive kids of all ages will love it.
Reviewed by Alison