EXCA-GATOR!

An overeager gator learns a lesson in teamwork.

Deep from the swamp, an alligator jumps into an excavator, ready for a day’s work. He is, in a clever twist of wordplay, called “Exca-Gator!” Exca-Gator joins his crew on the job site. When there is dirt to be moved, Exca-Gator enthusiastically volunteers. “CLEARING! CLUMPING! DIGGING! DUMPING!” He does it all. But when there is other work to be done, Exca-Gator jumps in quickly, too, even if it isn’t his skill set. Is he good at spreading cement? Should he lift that beam onto the tower? Exca-Gator just can’t control his impulses, and everything comes crashing down. Luckily, his team is there to remind him of a crucial truth: “We’re excited, just like you. But— // We build the best when we’re a crew!” Hartman’s bright, bouncy rhyme sets a fast-moving pace. Slack’s swampy greens and browns add to the muck and mire of the construction site, while brightly colored trucks zoom around, each doing its own important work. Construction fans will delight in spotting (and naming) each vehicle, and adults will cheer the cooperation message.

A satisfying tale that will have readers building up self-control and tearing down overzealousness.