Author/Illustrator: Bernard Waber
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 1962
Age: 3-7
Themes: crocodiles, moving, family
Opening: This is the house. The house on East 88th Street. It is empty now, but it won’t be for long.
Summary: (from my library’s catalog) The Primm family finds Lyle, a performing crocodile, in the bathtub in their new apartment. To everyone’s surprise all become great friends.
Why I like this book: Another classic, and an old friend that time and again needs revisiting. The limited color palette and loose style leaves plenty of room for imagination, excitement, and emotion to unfold. The storytelling has the matter-of-fact attitude that children understand best. Of course they continue to welcome this crocodile into their own family! Enjoy!
Resources/Activities: Have you ever moved to a new home and found something the previous owner left behind? No? Make one up! Create a new story with the object; also read Lovable Lyle, or Lyle Walks the Dogs, from Bernard Waber.
For more Perfect Picture Book picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.
julie rowan-zoch 
What a fun and quirky choice! Kids will adore this story. I love your description of the illustrations. It may be an oldie, but a goody. Great review.
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Thank you, Patricia!
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I’m inspired by your story prompt to write about finding something a previous owner left behind. In the house we live in now, we found hats at the back of a shelf and extra cans of paint in the basement. I often wonder if I ever left anything behind after moving… Yet another fun picture book review. I hope my library has a copy of this one or can bring one in from another library.
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I’d love to read what you develop, Leslie!
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Oh, I remember this book. I love it too. Thanks for opening it up for us again.
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I don’t remember ever seeing this book. Great premise!
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Ok, gotta check this one out. The premise is hilarious. I do recall finding someone’s diary after moving into the top of an old house when I was in college. I started to read it, but then I felt like I was being a voyeur, so I put it in the garbage. Thanks for the memory!
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Gah! I would have read the whole dang thing!
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Lyle the Crocodile – a fav!!! Thanks for revisiting the classics, Julie!
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I’ve never heard of this one. Sounds like fun and the illustrations have that quaint feel about it. Hmmm… we have always moved into newly built homes so no we would never find anything. Except we did find a couple of empty cigarette packets in the wall of the shower in our first house when we put a new shower in. Builders aye!
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LoveloveLOVE this book, Julie! How can anyone resist and opening with bath sounds made by a crocodile? 🙂
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Love your choice of an old classic & especially love the writing prompt. We once found a sharp knife sticking out of the furthest reaches of an old basement & a secret hiding place (that was empty!) as we were moving out of another older home.
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Yikes! I wonder what someone had in mind when they hid it!
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