Books like The Christmas Crocodile
By Bonny Becker
For the kid who roots for the troublemaker at every family gathering, this is a Christmas Eve gone deliciously, chaotically wrong. Rollicking, mischievous, and warm underneath all the chaos.
A warrior princess wants nothing but a big, strong horse for her birthday, but the pony she actually gets is small, round, and gassy — and nothing like the fierce steed she imagined.
A beloved dinosaur bakes cookies, helps old ladies cross the street, and plays with kids in town — while one boy, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie, insists she's scientifically extinct and shouldn't exist at all.
Three mysterious visitors crash-land in Mr. Li's field claiming to be from "Europe," and he welcomes them home, feeds them, and helps fix their "car" — no questions asked, even though they're clearly aliens.
A rat who can't pronounce his R's gets teased at school until a bigger, meaner, smarter capybara arrives — and his very speech impediment turns out to be exactly what saves the day.
A beautiful young cockroach must choose a husband, so her grandmother teaches her the Coffee Test — spilling coffee on a suitor's shoes to see how he reacts to anger.
A baby with a booming voice, a habit of giving away his birthday presents, and a strange love of chimneys grows up to become Santa — one odd little clue at a time.
A bear wakes up from hibernation ravenous and thin, and as his forest friends bring him roots, berries, clover, and fish, his hunger keeps growing — until it's satisfied in a surprising way.
An eager young dragon works his way through Madam Dragon's flying school, collecting bumps, bruises, and gold stars, while a mysterious little girl keeps turning up to patch him back together.
A small boy is invited to tea at the palace and always asks the same question — may he bring a friend? — and each time, a surprising animal guest shows up beautifully behaved.
A gallery of towering, spike-tailed dinosaurs test their families' patience with messes and roaring fits, then show love in small ways — cleaning up, smiling instead of shouting, and hugging tight.
A boy sets off to buy simple things like a carrot, a hat, and a cake, but every shop hands him the wrong item entirely — a growing parade of mixed-up animals instead.
One overworked mother cooks endless separate meals as each of her seven picky children demands their own special food — until a birthday surprise finally brings them all to the same table.
