All the other animals tell Solomon to go away because he causes trouble. Another crocodile arrives and the two run off to cause trouble together. The illustrations are very colorful. The book could be used to teach vocabulary about different kinds of animals or synonyms for nuisance or trouble maker. The book doesn't have much of a resolution and left me hanging and waiting for a more conclusive ending. I picked this one up based on the illustrations- some of the spreads are absolutely gorgeous and the little touches of gold on the cover are quite attractive. The speckled enthusiasm of the several-colored dots over the richly dark and unpredictable outlines against the watercolor washed backgrounds is just great. However, some of the spreads have a better balance and sense of emotion/amusement/whimsy than others, something that is perhaps necessary to the pacing of this relatively very simple story. The words themselves are perhaps the weakest part of the book, with a slight sense of awkwardness when reading aloud. Somehow the words just seem to lack the excitement and exuberance of the pictures. There is a bit of a pattern that avoids complete repetition which is nice but is somehow slightly unsatisfying. Overall, worth picking up from the library for the pictures and giving the story a try- they're definitely award worthy (although Kate Greenaway rather than Caldecott since Rayner is British). I would recommend keeping an eye on Rayner's work!
playrful ink spatter art and vocabulary galore (pest, nuisance, pain)
—Noochie
helps with vocabulary. a cute book with great watercolors.
—Mln1994
Beautiful illustrations.
—tirah
Double trouble!
—jaazy
