Review of Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

Counting Crocodiles is a funny rhyming novel about a clever monkey who lives on an island with a lemon tree. She is curious whether there are more crocodiles in the sea or monkeys on the shore. The crocodiles help her count in groups while her only goal is to get to the banana tree island. She then “forgets” to count and fools the crocodiles as makes her way back home with bunches of bananas with the help of her friend the fox.

Counting Crocodiles covers many fundamental concepts for grade one visual art, such as the elements of design which include lines, shape and form (geometric and organic), space (distance), colour (mixing primary, warm, cool tones), and value (light and dark). It also covers the principles of design which is contrast (light/dark, large/small, pure/mixed). The illustrations have light to dark skies and bodies of water. Shaded leaves, warm-toned animals and fruit, a variety of animal sizes, and references different sizes according to space. In addition to art, Counting Crocodiles can be used for mathematics. It touches on number sense and numeration up to 50, measurement, two-and three-dimensional figures, geometry and spatial sense, data management, and probability.

The illustrations have a variety of elements of design, it works with colour and patterns to show texture (D1.3 and D2.2). For example, Hillenbrand drew repeated white lines in the water to show the waves and movement of the water. Hillenbrand has illustrated both two and three-dimensional works of art (D1.1) throughout the story, such as animals, furniture, and trees. The illustrations express the characters’ emotions throughout the story, such as when the monkey tricked the crocodiles (D2.1). We can discuss why the monkey fooled the crocodiles and how they may have felt.

After reading the book together, we can identify and describe visual art forms found around their community (D3.1) and in other times, places and cultures (D3.2). By comparing in class, we can keep a tally and observe if there are any common themes. We can compare vintage photo quality, colour and date to the clarity and vibrancy of today’s photos. We can discuss how the illustrator used the elements of design to create a funny story. As a class, we can count the crocodiles and add them in groups to total 55. On one of the pages, the crocodiles are all lined up, which is a part of the elements of design. We can discuss that if one crocodile is one non-standard unit, the sea is 55 crocodiles long. Furthermore, this could be interchanged with one unit as a monkey and we could estimate that five monkeys are equivalent to one crocodile. I can explain that measuring the illustration with a ruler would be much smaller compared to measuring in real-life. Another aspect of this lesson can be noting how Hillenbrand uses size in the story, such as the small fish compared to the large crocodiles in the sea. In relation to size, we can discuss the distance of objects, the illustrator drew a smaller island when it was further away from the main focal point.

The students can create an illustration including two-and three-dimensional (D1.1) work of what happens next with the monkey and the crocodiles. It is a good way for the students to express emotions by using their awareness of signs and symbols (D2.3), such as colouring the crocodile red after being fooled by the monkey (D2.1). I would ask the students to explain their drawing and what elements could be used to help people understand their thinking process (D2.2). In their art, they can extrapolate while incorporating the elements and principles of design to create a more in-depth picture (D1.3).

In the story, the author creates groups, such as “two crocodiles resting on rocks, eight crocodiles in polka-dot socks.” The students can then create bar graphs of the crocodiles using titles, axis labels, units and a legend. Similarly, we could take a class survey, “Which crocodile illustration is the funniest?” and the students could create a bar graph using that data.

Finally, using the elements of design the students could draw the different types of crocodiles from the story and create a repeating pattern up to 50 and count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s. Using their pattern, they can divide the crocodiles up into fractions. However, to make this more accommodating, some students can use the total of 12, 16, or 20 crocodiles opposed to 50. As a formative assessment, the students can demonstrate counting backwards by 1’s from 20 crocodiles. As a summative, there could be a test using subtraction and addition of the different types of crocodiles. For example, in numbers or pictures, ten crocodiles dressed liked Goldilocks subtract nine crocodiles with chickenpox.

Overall, many activities in math and art could be made from this one book by changing the manipulatives to cubes, clay, paint, patterning blocks, and counters.

Sierra, J., & Hillenbrand, W. (2012). Counting crocodiles. United States: Paw Prints