Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited

AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
 

Bank Street College, Best Children's Books of the Year

Kirkus Reviews
"Demonstrating the many rewards of Right Action, Little Croc fends off his importunate friends and resolutely hauls a large coin purse he's discovered under a bush to the police station — past an oh-so-tempting shoe store, a lemonade vendor, a charity worker and Murdock, a menacing punk. In rushes the owner a little later to rescue a prized locket and then give Little Croc everything else! Unconcerned that it's a purse, and covered in pink flowers to boot, the delighted reptile adopts the fashion accessory and divides the cash inside into 'spend,' 'share' and 'save' piles. He then treats himself to a lemonade and a coveted pair of red cowboy boots, makes a donation to the charity, buys gifts for all his buddies (and even Murdock), then goes home to drop the last coin in his piggy bank and dream of saving for a matching cowboy hat. Placing her all-croc cast in an upscale village setting and tucking in some visual jokes (the lemonade comes from 'Croc Monsieur's' caf?), Finlay gives the episode a bright and breezy look. Along with making worthy points about the benefits of honesty, modeling responsible financial behavior and even somehow managing to keep Little Croc from coming off as a goody-goody, she introduces a young hero who is refreshingly oblivious to gender expectations — bravo."