"A Crocodile in the Family" is a cute new story that families will love. Our kiddos loved the storyline and the amazing illustrations. We enjoyed the watching the adventure unfold as the family and Croccy spend time together doing various activities. As a parent, I loved that the moral of the story was clear and able to be understood by my little ones. As one of my kiddos mentioned, this book was excellent and we loved that the Bird family was so nice to Croccy. We highly recommend this book for any home library or classroom!

A very sweet children's picture book about unique families and acceptance. The illustrations are absolutely breathtaking.

As someone who works with many children in unique home situations, I struggled with the term “keep” that this book uses. “We keep him because”. It insinuates that at any time, they can choose to not keep him. That’s a hard struggle for many children. It also teaches other children that the term “keep” is acceptable. For example, a child learns about a friend of theirs who is adopted, and then curiously asks about it (which is wonderful!) but because of this book, that child says “that’s so cool you’re adopted and your family chose to keep you”. It is a heartbreaking (yet innocent) term.

Perhaps, language like “is that why you love him?” Answered by “it’s one reason we love him, but not the only”, and the next time “is that why you cherish him?” And then “it’s one reason we cherish him, but not the only”.

I believe this book could be absolutely outstanding with some tweaking to the language and removal of the word “keep”. It has the potential to be a great tool in acceptance of unique families. My review and rating today is based on the version I have read, but would be compelled to re-read and review if small changes were made. :)

The message here is that everyone belongs. It doesn't matter if you're a crocodile in a family of birds, you belong. This is such an important message that everyone needs, even us adults. The art style is beautiful! This will be a staple on all my neices and nephew's shelves.

In the Aussie bush a family of birds finds an egg. Out of the egg pops a crocodile and they adopt this little fellow into their family. The other bush animals ask why and it is only until the end that the animals finally understand why. I will love exploring Daron Parton's Aussie animals and all the little gems in the colourful illustrations. Kitty Black's use of animals to explore belonging and diversity in families is a wonderful way for children to connect with a story and can be the beginning of important conversations. I look forward to making this a regular read aloud with the families at my Library Storytimes.

arc provided by netgalley in exchanged for an honest review

this sweet, bright, and overall amazing children’s book is all about how family isn’t necessarily about blood.

it’s conveys a simple and short, yet powerful message for young readers about adoption. on top of that, it has many colorful pictures that are easy to follow along for all ages.

ARC FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE OF AN HONEST REVIEW
This books is the perfect example of a children book that teaches little children how family is not defined but blood. Short story with cute draws that make it easy for the infants to read and discover this adventure

This was so cute! I absolutely adored it. I think its a simple yet quite powerful story about adoption, which, to this day, people still don’t understand.

I adored the message, he belongs and that’s that. Something very simple, yet very true.

The artwork was also beautiful and i really loved it.

Another nice thing about this, was how the crocodile didn’t do stuff that was just “boy things”. I know this isn’t new, but still important to keep reinforcing the fact that kids should do whatever they want.

This is an adorable book and the illustrations are beautiful and brightly colored. I love that his family adopted him and they love him for him and don't try to change him.

My own son is adopted, so I was keen to review this book. I have read lots of children's books about adoption over the years, and this book is quite lovely. The illustrations are beautiful and fun and I could imagine using the book in the classroom to lead a discussion about differences and inclusion. There was just one trigger for me, and that's probably because I'm approaching this book as an adoptive parent. Throughout the book, other animals ask "is that why you keep him?" The term "keeping" to refer to adoption feels a little bit off. It's more like how you would refer to a pet. I would have preferred to see the words "is that why you love him?"

Other reviewers probably wouldn't feel the same way and this does not detract from the loveliness of this gentle little book. Suitable for children from preschool to grade 2.