A zingy original tale for children needing a brush-up on clock-reading, schedule-keeping--or the perils of hanging out with five frisky monkeys. Crocodile stubbornly tries to adhere to his neatly typed schedule: "2:00. Shop for food. 3:00. Bath and snack. 4:00. Catch those pesky monkeys. 5:00. Cook those pesky monkeys . . . "--but to a chorus of the title question, his simian tormenters continually distract him by fooling around, and ultimately throw a spanner into the works of his tractor-like monkey-catching machine. In the wake of the ensuing wreck, Crocodile suffers a change of heart, and amends his schedule: "Play catch with those pesky nice monkeys." Giving his art a rougher, less-finished look than usual, Cushman puts a clock-face in each scene, captures the monkeys' energy without leaving the pages looking over-busy, and pairs with Sierra's lively text--"What TIME is it, Mr. Crocodile? Time to shop where it's smart at the Crocodile Mart. / How did all these BANANAS get into my cart?!?"--to make any time the right time for this irresistible rhyme. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Mr. Crocodile has planned every hour of his day, from awakening and swimming to cooking and eating pesky monkeys. When his ""monkey-collecting mobile"" breaks down and the monkeys come to his rescue, Mr. Crocodile realizes they make better friends than food. The acrylic illustrations are playful, but Mr. Crocodile's jump from seeing the monkeys as food to friends is a stretch. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr. 1. By the light of the moon, Mr. Crocodile pecks away on a typewriter, preparing a list of Things to Do Tomorrow. Kids may be disappointed to see crocodiles doing the same boring stuff humans do: waking up, eating breakfast, shopping, taking a bath. But the list takes on a decidedly reptilian flavor at four, five, and six o'clock, when it is revealed that Mr. Crocodile intends to catch, cook, and eat those pesky monkeys that have been annoying him. Cushman's humorous double-page spreads show the croc gamely trying to follow his agenda despite the quintet of mischievous monkeys, who start each hour by teasingly chanting, What TIME is it, Mr. Crocodile? Sierra's bouncy rhyming text will make this a fun read-aloud, and the clocks that appear prominently in every spread can be used to introduce or reinforce the concepts of time and following a schedule. --Lauren Peterson Copyright 2004 Booklist

PreS-Gr 3-Two picture-book talents join forces for some memorable monkey business in this entertaining tale. In the introductory spread, Mr. Crocodile lays out his intended schedule for the next day, but his best-laid plans go awry when the monkeys arrive. Sierra again demonstrates her considerable storytelling skill with a series of deftly rhymed answers to the repeated title question: "Time to take a quick look/for a recipe book./HURRY UP! HURRY UP!/I've got monkeys to cook." Although the story is vaguely reminiscent of several folktales involving cross crocodiles and mischievous monkeys, Mr. Crocodile ultimately shows a soft spot that compromises his traditionally sinister persona. The story ends with him revising his daily planner to reflect his new attitude toward the simian smart alecks. Cushman departs from his signature style of watercolor cartoons in favor of a more sophisticated impressionistic technique using vivid acrylics. This bolder, brighter medium and method depict the action and hilarity even more effectively than his past work. The details, of course, make all the difference, such as the inclusion of a clock in each full-bleed spread with the time corresponding to Mr. Croc's original schedule. Pair this with Sierra's Counting Crocodiles (Gulliver, 1997) for even more fun with this reptilian rogue and his pesky primate counterparts, or with Joan M. Lexau and Cushman's Crocodile and Hen (HarperCollins, 2001) for another tale of a crocodile befriending his intended dinner.-Sean George, Memphis-Shelby County Public Library & Information Center, Memphis, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.