CROCODILES ARE THE BEST ANIMALS OF ALL!
by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Hannah Shaw
Identical in general import but, alas, far inferior in presentation to Kevin Sherry’s exuberant I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! (2007), this boastfest pairs stumbling rhymes to static jumbles of cartoon figures. Loudly proclaiming superiority over an orang-utan, a pair of rabbits and other animals, a crocodile proceeds to swing through the trees, climb a mountain, chew grass and other unlikely feats—“ ‘I hop on my left foot. I hop on my right. / I hop to an unbelievable height!’ / He bounced about like a basket ball [sic], chuckling / “Crocodiles are the best animals of all!’ ”—until he receives his comeuppance at last, because everyone else (including, improbably, the orang) has ears that wiggle. Donkey’s closing remarks (which repeat the opening lines), “My ears may wiggle and my teeth may be wonky, / but nothing is better than being a donkey!” make no sense as a tagline and so are of a piece with the rest. (Picture book. 6-8)