Croc and Bird

Author(s): Alexis Deacon

Picture Books

Side by side on the sand sat two eggs. With a crack and a rip, the brothers hatch, and out comes a bird and a...crocodile! But they can't be brothers - can they?

18.99 NZD

Stock: 0


Add to Wishlist


Product Information

An enchanting tale about differences, and the joy of finding your true family

Kate Greenaway Medal 2013 and UK Literacy Association Book Award: Ages 3-11 2012.

"This stunning book follows the story of these two characters and how they teach each other their individual skills. A touching tale of how family ties aren't always so obvious to everyone but can be found right under your nose!" The Golden Treasury "This deeply emotional and moving story about love and closeness despite difference is perhaps Deacon's best book yet.Quite superb" Books for Keeps "a charming, beautifully illustrated parable about sibling love" -- Amanda Craig The Times 20120331 "This unusual, unsentimental story begins with two white eggs that look companionable and interchangeable. But out of one, a fledgling emerges and, from the other, a baby crocodile. Croc and Bird cannot hope to be brothers but, in Deacon's custody, are soul-mates who forage and huddle together, wings against scales, to keep out the cold. The bird calls its nest 'our home' - impractical for Croc but he does not grumble. A delicate, poignant, exquisitely drawn exploration of affinity with no need for a clumping moral. (2+)" -- Kate Kellaway Guardian website 20120402 "Croc and Bird mixes comical and genuinely heart-warming scenes to create a beautiful tale of love, friendship and where we feel we really belong. Deacon's style is very unusual. with thick lines that almost look like that they would be grainy if you touched them. His artwork can be dark at times, the bird and crocodile not as "cute" as you might find them in other illustrated books, they fill more real, close to zoological sketches at times. However, the use of subtle colours helps to give a delicate feel to the story and the mixture of slight harshness and create a truly evocative atmosphere, which oozes emotion. Deacon tackles the theme of nature versus nurture in the utmost lyrical way, and I found myself moved to tears by the implications of Croc and Bird's relationship: how family is what you make it, not what is expected by others, how you can feel isolated and alone amongst your kind and accepted and loved by those who are not. The subtle message found in Croc and Bird makes this book a powerful tool not only to help young readers' understanding and acceptance of others' differences, but also to help those who might feel, for whatever reason, isolated. In a society that is perhaps, sometimes, judgemental of non-conformist family units,whether because of race or gender, Croc and Bird is a beautifully gentle reminder that in the end, it is the fact of loving someone and being loved in return, that really matters." -- Melanie McGilloway Library Mice

Alexis Deacon graduated from the University of Brighton, where he studied Illustration, gaining a first class honours degree. Alexis Deacon is one of Booktrust's ten Best New Illustrators, and Beegu was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Alexis lives in London.

General Fields

  • : 9780099451228
  • : Random House
  • : Random House
  • : 0.163
  • : March 2013
  • : 214mm X 262mm X 5mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : July 2013
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Alexis Deacon
  • : Paperback
  • : Jul-13
  • : 823.92
  • : 32
  • : chiefly Illustrationsstrations (colour)