Counting Crocodiles
         This story by Judy Sierra is based on a Pan-Asian folktale, as we are told on the opening page of the book.  In the old tale, we encounter either a monkey, a mouse deer, or a rabbit who trick some crocodiles into building a bridge in order to cross an obstacle.  In Judy Sierra�s version of the folktale, we are introduced to a clever monkey whose only source of food is a sour lemon tree. �She ate lemons boiled and fried, steamed, sauteed, pureed, and dried. She ate lemons till she cried, �I�m all puckered up inside!��
On her tiny island, sour lemons are all there is to eat; however, on a nearby island, the monkey can see a tall tree full of sweet bananas.  She tells herself she will �carry back a stack of sweet bananas from that tree.�  Before being able to do that, however, she must outsmart a large group of crocodiles guarding the water between both islands.  The monkey then poses a question, �I wonder, are there more crocodiles in the sea, or monkeys on the shore?� and so the story takes off.  The crocodiles begin to argue that they greatly outnumber the monkey, but monkey suggests that they get in a line so he may count them and prove her point.
          The author has very cleverly incorporated a number of uses for this book.  It can simply be a great storybook about a clever monkey, a counting book, a poetry book, and even a book that teaches us a lesson (little guys can be successful!).  The plot is quite engrossing, making readers turn the page to find out how the monkey gets a hold of those delicious bananas. On her way to success, the monkey counts the crocodiles one through ten, and then ten through one on her way back.  Finally, the author�s use of rhyming allows teachers to introduce poetry to their students.  Young readers will enjoy reading this book out loud over and over due to the lyrical content of it. Every page offers us another small poem. �One crusty croc who chanced to hear her/snorted. �It could not be clearer/ that lurking just below the waves are crocodiles galore./Why, head to tail, we�d reach across the sea!� the reptile roared.� Yet another use for this book is to introduce the �ock� sound. For example, the author uses the words: crocs, fox, mohawks, socks, blocks, chicken pox, etc. and this can help students learn the different ways to spell this sound.  As Publisher's Weekly states, "Author and artist, working with traditional materials, arrive at an altogether fresh presentation." Certainly, a valuable book in more ways than one.

Sierra, Judy. 1997. Counting crocodiles. New York: Gulliver Books Harcourt Brace &
          Company. ISBN 0-15-200192-1.
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