What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile, illustrated by Doug Cushman. Harcourt, 2004.
"A zingy original tale for children needing a brush-up on clock-reading, schedule-keeping—or the perils of keeping up with five pesky monkeys. . . . Sierra's lively text . . . [makes] any time the right time for this irresistible rhyme."
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A good picture book idea is like a synthetic sweater in a dryer."
—Judy Sierra
This is how I visualize a good picture book idea, like a sweater in the dryer, because it effortlessly attracts other ideas and images that have been whirling around in my head.
The basic story of What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile comes from a traditional children's game, What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf. This is a tag game, and I changed it from a confrontation between a wolf and a group of children to one between a crocodile and a bunch of monkeys. Then (the sock sticking to the sweater) I was able to include one of my greatest frustrations—never being able to complete my to-do list for the day. Here is Mr. Crocodile's to-do list, which he will abandon when he discovers the monkeys make better friends than dinner:
—Judy Sierra
This is how I visualize a good picture book idea, like a sweater in the dryer, because it effortlessly attracts other ideas and images that have been whirling around in my head.
The basic story of What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile comes from a traditional children's game, What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf. This is a tag game, and I changed it from a confrontation between a wolf and a group of children to one between a crocodile and a bunch of monkeys. Then (the sock sticking to the sweater) I was able to include one of my greatest frustrations—never being able to complete my to-do list for the day. Here is Mr. Crocodile's to-do list, which he will abandon when he discovers the monkeys make better friends than dinner:
