Chomp goes the crocodile by Matthew Van Fleet

Simon and Schuster, 2018. ISBN 9781534438767
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Humour. Animals. Board book. Cut out book. Counting book. Colours. A fun board book to delight younger readers, the cut outs will mystify, amuse and maze as they learn to pull out the slide at the side of the book to make the animal's head move. And what an animal! From a very small green body appearing at the top of the page, it grows through the book to an enormous animal, multicoloured, taking up most of the last page. And when the past page is turned, a surprise awaits.
The crocodile grows through eating other animals, and each page counts these from one to ten. From one fish, then two otters, three cranes, four beavers, five foxes up to ten hummingbirds, children will be astonished at the variety eaten by the growing crocodile, and learn about some animals they do not know.
Colours, numbers and animals are incorporated in this book, teaching along the way about manners, verse and rhyme. Kids will love predicting the rhyming word, reading the small print on the bottom of each page, leading them to the animal overleaf, watching the crocodile grow with each set of animals inside him.
A wonderful read aloud, I can imagine kids reading along, predicting the rhyming word, asking questions about the animals shown, learning the parts they really like, and go wow at the end when the surprise page is revealed. On this page they will find more information about the flora seen along the way and will be able to count over all again the animals seen in the text. All great fun and a wonderful teaching tool for younger readers.
Fran Knight