The Enormous Crocodile

My four year old loved it! Especially the bits where the croc is going to eat and munch all those sweet juicy children. :) NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM.

I think this is just one of those things natural to all children who already feel like prey with all these nasty adults hanging around. All of them want to eat you in a child's eyes. It's only natural because they see the adults getting eaten by jobs and spouses and the death of their dreams, so why not just imagine getting eaten by crocodiles, too? It's NATURAL!

That being said, this croc plays lots of nasty and cruel tricks in order to fill his belly, but fortunately, he happens to piss off most of the jungle creatures on his way to his playground meal ticket.

Alas! Poor stupid croc! And because show more this is A dahl tale, it gets really weird. :) Let's alter reality and turn it into an urban fantasy that winds up as a space opera, shall we? Right-On!

I love BBQ.

So does my daughter, it seems! show less

My daughter chortled aloud at the end of this one, when the crocodile is finally punished by being thrown into the sun until he sizzles like a great sausage. Roald Dahl is great at not shirking the gory, dark side of kids and kids' humor, and this is a deliciously wicked villain.

Unfortunately, all the main active characters are gendered male (except one bird, which, unlike all the other animals, is ambiguously gendered "it"). The only female characters are the little girls, who like the little boys, are targets for the enormous hungry crocodile. The main flaw in the book.

Quentin Blake's illustrations are nicely ethnically diverse, although one does wonder where is this land in which the crocodiles roam free along with elephants and show more monkeys but the ethnically diverse children mostly have English names and English entertainments. show less

The Enormous Crocodile is very, very hungry and has come up with some secret plans and clever tricks in order to eat his favourite meal - children. The other animals work to foil his nasty evil ways and keep the children safe.

A bizarre tale about a hungry crocodile who brags so much to the other animals that they see his secret plans and clever tricks coming from a mile away. After they spot his enormous figure of course. I can't say I really liked this story all that much but I did appreciate that the elephant was named Trunky - well that and that Trunky saves the day.) 2 stars for target audience. 1 for me.

The eponymous rotten reptile is gleefully unrepentant about his plan to have tasty children for lunch. This amusing tale reminds me of some of Kipling's Just So Stories, with its rhyme-y names, repeated phrases, and the entirely deserved comeuppance of a crocodile.

My daughter chortled aloud at the end of this one, when the crocodile is finally punished by being thrown into the sun until he sizzles like a great sausage. Roald Dahl is great at not shirking the gory, dark side of kids and kids' humor, and this is a deliciously wicked villain. [return][return]Unfortunately, all the main active characters are gendered male (except one bird, which, unlike all the other animals, is ambiguously gendered "it"). The only female characters are the little girls, who like the little boys, are targets for the enormous hungry crocodile. The main flaw in the book. [return][return]Quentin Blake's illustrations are nicely ethnically diverse, although one does wonder where is this land in which the crocodiles roam show more free along with elephants and monkeys but the ethnically diverse children mostly have English names and English entertainments. show less

Ok, but rather written to the Roald Dahl formula, 30 May 2015

This review is from: The Enormous Crocodile (Dahl Fiction) (Paperback)
I've read many Roald dahl books to my children - and latterly grandchild - but this was one I'd not encountered till recently.
Aimed at around 6 or 7 year olds, this is a short, well-illustrated read, telling the tale of the wicked, hungry crocodile, whose 'secret plans and clever tricks' relate to getting hold of a tasty meal:
'The sort of things that
I'm going to eat
Have fingers, toe-nails, arms
and legs and feet'

Plenty of Dahl-type language plus characters from his other books, who foil the crocodile's attempts to diguise himself as a seesaw etc and bag a nice juicy little child for dinner.
My grandson quite show more enjoyed it; made for an easy entertaining read. I can't say it massively grabbed me; found it a bit forgettable and very similar to Dahl's other work. show less

If you are looking for something to entertain the small ones in the car then this is it.
They are guaranteed to demand it be played again and again, journey after journey, until adults, at least, are sick of it.
We follow the enormous crocodile from the river to the jungle in his search for tasty morsels, small children, for lunch.

Stephen Fry's reading is superb.