Alligators, Alligators

by Eve Bunting, Diane Ewen (Illustrator)

Overview

From beloved picture book author Eve Bunting, a playful story set in a magical swamp about overcoming greed with the power of love, nature, and music.

On the sunny river dock, people pack onto the big tourist boat, waiting for their chance to see the alligators. What they don’t know is that down in the swamp, the alligators are waiting for them too!

Jim and his dad run this tour, and Jim has a special talent to share with the people and creatures of the swamp alike. Animals flock to him to hear his flute-playing—it even makes the alligators dance! His music is so remarkable that a greedy passenger decides he must have Jim's flute. Will one person’s selfishness ruin the magic of the swamp for everyone?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328846266
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/22/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Eve Bunting was the beloved, award-winning author of more than two hundred and fifty books for young people, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz, The Wall, Fly Away Home, and Train to Somewhere.

Editorial Reviews

06/19/2023

Roscoe’s Tours doesn’t just offer boat views of the alligators “down in the swamp,/ where the river’s warm/ and the air is damp.” The company’s operator introduces his young son Jim, both portrayed with brown skin, whose flute-playing casts a spell on the long-tailed reptiles (“The gators sway and sashay and one pirouettes./ They’re cold-blooded killers acting like pets”). He next assures the vessel’s amazed passengers, portrayed with a variety of skin tones, that the alligators aren’t trained: “The gift of this music belongs to my Jim./ Animals gather to listen to him.” But at the end of the tour, a pale-skinned passenger in a backward baseball cap snatches Jim’s flute, hoping to sell the animals it lures (“endangered or not”) to poachers—until the bond that Jim and his music have forged sees justice served in an unexpected way. Cartoon-style digital illustrations by U.K. illustrator Ewen portray the alligators as comical creatures with large, luxurious eyelashes. Lengthy, sometimes-plodding verse by Bunting (I’m a Duck) maintains a steady beat, powering this instructive, low-conflict fable briskly forward. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Cartoon-style digital illustrations portray the alligators as comical creatures with large, luxurious eyelashes. . . . Bunting maintains a steady beat, powering this instructive, low-conflict fable briskly forward." — Publishers Weekly

(Hello Baby, I'm Your Mom) "Bunting’s soothing rhymes are sure to be a favorite refrain." — School Library Journal

(I'm a Duck) "Bunting’s singsong rhymes don’t skip a beat."  — Publishers Weekly

(One Green Apple) "[A] gentle story about being new and different, with the author delivering her message in her classically subtle style."  — Kirkus Reviews

(Being Friends with Dragons) "In bright, cartoonish digital spot drawings, vignettes, and full-page illustrations, Ewen employs an assortment of patterns and textures to visualize the imaginative informational text."  — School Library Journal

From the Publisher