Eat Your Rocks, Croc!: Dr. Glider's Advice for Troubled Animals (Dr. Glider #1)

Gr 1-3—This nonfiction catalog of animal facts is formatted as an advice column for animals penned by a sugar glider named Dr. Glider. Each spread covers a different species and features its own color palette, but "letters" to Glider are always green. The facts are interesting and unusual; they are also fairly random and interspersed with anthropomorphic traits such as a yoga-practicing owl and utensil-using crustaceans. Glider, who can effortlessly operate a submarine, can also travel from Kenya to Sweden to the South China Sea to Western Europe without a hitch. The narrator and advice seekers use informal, flippant slang, while informational captions use scientific language. Some of the vocabulary words are far beyond the first through third grade level at which this book is aimed. A glossary is included, but the book's haphazard arrangement discourages its use as a reference source for older readers. VERDICT An interesting enough find, but a poor resource.—Sheri Reda, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Dr. Sugar Glider takes questions from various animal "patients" with occasionally punny results in this eye-opening tour of animal adaptations. Accompanied by Oswald's textured, watercolor-like digital illustrations, Dr. Glider's global caseload of 14 includes an aphid whose brother was kidnapped by ants for his honeydew secretions (a sidebar explains symbiosis), an overtired frigatebird who needs reminding that it can sleep while flying, and the crocodile of the title, which needs help digesting. In Oswald's animated scenes, Dr. Glider has her stethoscope at the ready while tending her oblivious patients variously on skis, using scuba gear, or via submarine (though a Tarzan outfit strikes an odd note). Four-panel sidebars consistently inform and surprise with animal facts, and a glossary reinforces new vocabulary. This kind of animal roundup isn't new, but with the help of the wisecracking Dr. Glider, Oswald and Keating's approach feels fresh and snappy. Ages 4-8. (May)