Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast

Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast
By Sophie Gilmore
32 pages; ages 5-8
Owlkids Books, 2019

theme: kindness, animals, imagination

There once lived a child the crocodiles called Little Doctor.

Little Doctor treats the creatures with care, bandaging and splinting and washing off scrapes and cuts. Then one day Big Mean shows up. Big Mean is every bit as big as her name implies, and when Little Doctor tries to take her temperature, Big Mean resists. But Little Doctor persists… and accidentally lands inside Big Mean’s big, toothy mouth – where she discovers something important. I don’t want to spoil this wonderful and sweet story, so please, please find a copy and read it for yourself. You’ll definitely want to read this story again and again.

What I like love about this book: The story seems so simple, and yet is a mile deep. It is about persistence, compassion, and respect. It also alludes to our human impact on the creatures who share this planet with us. I like that this story is inspired by a real-life crocodile doctor in the author’s family. And I really like the illustrations. They show us a lot about Little Doctor's life, from the way she dresses to the cool skeleton hanging from the ceiling of her room. They invite you to spend time on the page, poring over every detail.

Beyond the book:

Learn more about crocodiles here and here

Make a crocodile – you'll find a collection of many croc-crafts for kids here.

Plastic pollution is killing marine wildlife – even crocodiles. Learn more here. And here’s a list of ways you can reduce your use of plastic.

My colleague, Maria Marshall reviewed this book a couple months ago – you can find her thoughtful comments here.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some crocodilian nonfiction.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review F&G provided by the publisher.