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Croc o’Clock
The world’s largest crocodile likes to eat… but feeding time is getting out of control.
As the zoo clock ticks towards midnight, Croc is growing bigger and bigger… 5 DONUT RINGS…!
4 pumpkin pies
3 french fries
2 cups of tea
and a mountain of macaroni.
A bright, bold, and bonkers reimagining of the familiar festive song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, starring a very hungry crocodile.
As the zoo clock ticks towards midnight, Croc is growing bigger and bigger… 5 DONUT RINGS…!
4 pumpkin pies
3 french fries
2 cups of tea
and a mountain of macaroni.
A bright, bold, and bonkers reimagining of the familiar festive song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, starring a very hungry crocodile.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2021
1 person is currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Huw Lewis-Jones
59 books40 followersHuw Lewis-Jones is a British historian, editor, broadcaster and art director. Formerly a historian and Curator of Art at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lewis-Jones left Cambridge in June 2010 to pursue book and broadcasting projects. He is the Editorial Director of the independent publishing company Polarworld.
Lewis-Jones is now working on an exploration of classic mountain photography and a large photography project for the national charity the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. His most recent books as an author are a new history of the South Pole and an Arctic travel narrative for television with popular BBC presenter and adventurer Bruce Parry.
Lewis-Jones' first book was Face to Face: Polar Portraits, an account of historic and modern photographic portraiture, published in 2008. British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes wrote its Foreword. The book was The Sunday Times 'Book of the Week' and a 'Book of the Year' in The Observer and received much praise elsewhere. It was also published in Italy by De Agostini and in Germany by Geo and Frederking and Thaler. The Explorers Journal described it as 'one of the most stunning books of photography in recent times'.
The next in his series, Ocean Portraits, a celebration of the sea told through rare historic imagery and modern maritime photography, was released in the United Kingdom in late 2010 by Conway, an imprint of London-based publishing house Anova Books. It is understood there will also be French and German language editions. Its Foreword was written by pioneering yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Described by Wanderlust magazine as a trove of 'portraiture at its best; personal, insightful and delightfully intriguing', it was selected by The Guardian as one of 'the year's best photography books'. Lewis-Jones has now completed Mountain Heroes: Portraits of Adventure, with a significant international team of authors and mountaineers including Doug Scott, Sir Chris Bonington, Stephen Venables, and the celebrated National Geographic photographers Gordon Wiltsie and Cory Richards. It won the Adventure Book of the Year at the World ITB Awards in Germany.
He is also the author of children books (Blue Badger, Bad Apple, Croc o’Clock, etc.).
Lewis-Jones is now working on an exploration of classic mountain photography and a large photography project for the national charity the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. His most recent books as an author are a new history of the South Pole and an Arctic travel narrative for television with popular BBC presenter and adventurer Bruce Parry.
Lewis-Jones' first book was Face to Face: Polar Portraits, an account of historic and modern photographic portraiture, published in 2008. British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes wrote its Foreword. The book was The Sunday Times 'Book of the Week' and a 'Book of the Year' in The Observer and received much praise elsewhere. It was also published in Italy by De Agostini and in Germany by Geo and Frederking and Thaler. The Explorers Journal described it as 'one of the most stunning books of photography in recent times'.
The next in his series, Ocean Portraits, a celebration of the sea told through rare historic imagery and modern maritime photography, was released in the United Kingdom in late 2010 by Conway, an imprint of London-based publishing house Anova Books. It is understood there will also be French and German language editions. Its Foreword was written by pioneering yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Described by Wanderlust magazine as a trove of 'portraiture at its best; personal, insightful and delightfully intriguing', it was selected by The Guardian as one of 'the year's best photography books'. Lewis-Jones has now completed Mountain Heroes: Portraits of Adventure, with a significant international team of authors and mountaineers including Doug Scott, Sir Chris Bonington, Stephen Venables, and the celebrated National Geographic photographers Gordon Wiltsie and Cory Richards. It won the Adventure Book of the Year at the World ITB Awards in Germany.
He is also the author of children books (Blue Badger, Bad Apple, Croc o’Clock, etc.).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
March 26, 2022
Croc o’Clock
This book reminds me of the 12 days of Christmas but with a cute twist that involves a clock and counting hours instead. The story has a credible crocodile that lives in the zoo and has a multitude of different snacks served to him each hour on the hour. The drawing is spectacular and is filled with the large green reptile on each page. There are some nice alliterations that this is fun to read out loud and makes a wonderful starter book.
This book reminds me of the 12 days of Christmas but with a cute twist that involves a clock and counting hours instead. The story has a credible crocodile that lives in the zoo and has a multitude of different snacks served to him each hour on the hour. The drawing is spectacular and is filled with the large green reptile on each page. There are some nice alliterations that this is fun to read out loud and makes a wonderful starter book.
April 1, 2022
A fun and hilarious reimagining of the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, just now with a very very hungry croc (like seriously, so hungry).
Yes, maybe not the right time to read reimaginings of Christmas songs, but I just couldn’t resist this fun looking book when I saw it on Goodreads. I was curious what this croc would be eating and if it would be enough for him after a while~
In this one we meet BIG BIG BIIIIIGGG croc who is apparently getting bigger by the hour, yes, really. I had such a fun time reading what kind of foods the croc was being fed! And it is a real assortment of anything you can imagine and I have to say, despite having lunch just 30 minutes ago, I was getting hungry as well. Well, OK, maybe not for pumpkin pies, but I do love a mountain of macaroni! And French fries? Yum! Doughnuts, YAS! It may not be the most healthy food ever, but this is a kid’s book so I can forgive it, not to mention… there is the ending. 😉 I am sure kids would get bored if they saw a croc just getting his normal food of meat and tons of veggies. This is way more colourful and way happier. But boy, this croc is getting some food! I can imagine that he is the biggest in the world, anyone would be if they ate this much (though I think most would just get sick, or maybe, just like Monty Python’s sketch, explode).
I loved how, just like in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, things were repeated. For instance this page and the 3rd hour:
“At three on the zoo clock
the keepers give to me…
3 French Fries
2 Cups of Tea
And a mountain of macaroni”
I had a laugh at the ending. I cannot say much more than that because it would be a spoiler! But I loved it.
Some extra bonus points to the creator of this Youtube video. I read this one through Youtube, love love those readaloud channels, and this channel has added something extra, things are moving! Drips of tea are dripping, a bird lands on the croc’s head, and more! It made it so playful.
The illustrations were just pure fun! I love the colours, bright and fun and really bringing the story to life. Bonus points to the fun cover~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Yes, maybe not the right time to read reimaginings of Christmas songs, but I just couldn’t resist this fun looking book when I saw it on Goodreads. I was curious what this croc would be eating and if it would be enough for him after a while~
In this one we meet BIG BIG BIIIIIGGG croc who is apparently getting bigger by the hour, yes, really. I had such a fun time reading what kind of foods the croc was being fed! And it is a real assortment of anything you can imagine and I have to say, despite having lunch just 30 minutes ago, I was getting hungry as well. Well, OK, maybe not for pumpkin pies, but I do love a mountain of macaroni! And French fries? Yum! Doughnuts, YAS! It may not be the most healthy food ever, but this is a kid’s book so I can forgive it, not to mention… there is the ending. 😉 I am sure kids would get bored if they saw a croc just getting his normal food of meat and tons of veggies. This is way more colourful and way happier. But boy, this croc is getting some food! I can imagine that he is the biggest in the world, anyone would be if they ate this much (though I think most would just get sick, or maybe, just like Monty Python’s sketch, explode).
I loved how, just like in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, things were repeated. For instance this page and the 3rd hour:
“At three on the zoo clock
the keepers give to me…
3 French Fries
2 Cups of Tea
And a mountain of macaroni”
I had a laugh at the ending. I cannot say much more than that because it would be a spoiler! But I loved it.
Some extra bonus points to the creator of this Youtube video. I read this one through Youtube, love love those readaloud channels, and this channel has added something extra, things are moving! Drips of tea are dripping, a bird lands on the croc’s head, and more! It made it so playful.
The illustrations were just pure fun! I love the colours, bright and fun and really bringing the story to life. Bonus points to the fun cover~
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
June 27, 2022
This book didn't make a lot of sense. It was really cute at first, when the zookeepers are feeding the crocodile a bunch of different foods with a non-holiday song countdown similar to 12 Days of Christmas. And the illustrations are cute. Then at the end it makes this twist about not eating junk food? Except they're telling the croc to eat vegetables after he's full, not while he's still hungry. So, I don't think the message that actually comes across is the intended one. Just my personal opinion; others seem to really enjoy this one.
February 13, 2022
To the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas, a croc at the zoo is fed around the clock.
March 22, 2022
Super cute, we all absolutely loved this new take on the 12 days of Christmas
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June 28, 2023read for Library Materials for Children course
April 4, 2023
To the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas" readers help the zookeepers feed the world's biggest crocodile every hour. It builds and builds until the croc can't hold anymore. What if the crocodile bursts? It's a fun counting sing-along version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
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October 28, 2021I really enjoyed this crazy and silly book ... until the end. I really want to be able to give it 5 stars and don't want this review to come across as harsh. I LOVED the playful take on "The 12 Days of Christmas" -- the idea is that at each hour the hungry crocodile gets another round of treats. Instead of "a partridge in a pear tree" it's "a mountain of macaroni." All of the treats are amazing, and kids will love every bit of this. If you have the stamina to sing through this book you're kids will love that too! ((My throat hurts by the end for sure)).
Okay, so the end. Once you get to "at twelve on the zoo clock" you go through all the alliterative treats, from jumbo jellos to mighty milkshakes to pumpkin pies and more! But instead of the number 1 being "a mountain of macaroni" the zookeeper offers a perfect little green pea. The crocodile gets indignant (no surprise ... because, me too!!) and then there's a weird page where it seems like the crocodile literally bursts (!!), but, just kidding, he's fine and the zookeepers are serious that now it's vegetable time. And here is just where all the joy and silliness from every page up this this just deflates. Why not just finish the rhyme like normal? It's a great book with that. I don't understand what the message is -- is it a subliminal message to kids to eat their vegetables?
All that to say: read it and sing it and laugh and enjoy it. I imagine others won't be so hung up on the end like I am, and that's okay!
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.
Okay, so the end. Once you get to "at twelve on the zoo clock" you go through all the alliterative treats, from jumbo jellos to mighty milkshakes to pumpkin pies and more! But instead of the number 1 being "a mountain of macaroni" the zookeeper offers a perfect little green pea. The crocodile gets indignant (no surprise ... because, me too!!) and then there's a weird page where it seems like the crocodile literally bursts (!!), but, just kidding, he's fine and the zookeepers are serious that now it's vegetable time. And here is just where all the joy and silliness from every page up this this just deflates. Why not just finish the rhyme like normal? It's a great book with that. I don't understand what the message is -- is it a subliminal message to kids to eat their vegetables?
All that to say: read it and sing it and laugh and enjoy it. I imagine others won't be so hung up on the end like I am, and that's okay!
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.
October 19, 2025
I've had people ask me what sort of magic I have, that as a 50-year-old with no kids of my own, I seem to somehow instinctively know which books toddlers and preschoolers will love the most?
And the truth is pretty simple. While I do look for some specific criteria that makes these books stand out from the crowd, ultimately I'm guided by two questions: 1) is this a book I would have ABSOLUTELY LOVED as a small child, and 2) is this a book that my adored nieces and nephews (both biological and honourary) are likely to get excited about, that could become true favourites to them?
An excellent example of this is "Croc O'Clock" (2021), an absolutely stupendous little book from the UK that uses the cumulative singalong structure of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (a song familiar even to those of us who don't celebrate Christmas) to portray a huge, silly goose of a crocodile singing about the gargantuan meals his zookeepers feed him.
Somehow, amidst the descriptions, counting, and even sneaky nods to learning to tell time, this jaunty little story manages to still be delightfully funny. And that, along with the colourful exaggeration of the illustrations, makes it a guaranteed hit with the nursery school crowd.
And the truth is pretty simple. While I do look for some specific criteria that makes these books stand out from the crowd, ultimately I'm guided by two questions: 1) is this a book I would have ABSOLUTELY LOVED as a small child, and 2) is this a book that my adored nieces and nephews (both biological and honourary) are likely to get excited about, that could become true favourites to them?
An excellent example of this is "Croc O'Clock" (2021), an absolutely stupendous little book from the UK that uses the cumulative singalong structure of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (a song familiar even to those of us who don't celebrate Christmas) to portray a huge, silly goose of a crocodile singing about the gargantuan meals his zookeepers feed him.
Somehow, amidst the descriptions, counting, and even sneaky nods to learning to tell time, this jaunty little story manages to still be delightfully funny. And that, along with the colourful exaggeration of the illustrations, makes it a guaranteed hit with the nursery school crowd.
April 25, 2023
I read a lot of zoo picture books this week to prepare for storytime, and I liked almost none of them. I really thought this one was going to work, and I was already excited about singing the refrain of "FIVE DONUT RINGS!" in this parody of "The 12 Days of Christmas." But alas, no, the ending ruined everything.
Vegetables are not a punishment! Also, the zookeepers were the ones filling Croc to bursting with all kinds of junk food, so who are they to suddenly scold him at the end for not wanting to eat even a single pea? I was expecting Croc to give a big belch, spit the food back up in reverse order, or go off for a nap at the end, but no, we're going to teach kids that they should associate vegetables with negativity and shame.
Vegetables are not a punishment! Also, the zookeepers were the ones filling Croc to bursting with all kinds of junk food, so who are they to suddenly scold him at the end for not wanting to eat even a single pea? I was expecting Croc to give a big belch, spit the food back up in reverse order, or go off for a nap at the end, but no, we're going to teach kids that they should associate vegetables with negativity and shame.
April 18, 2022
Funny story of a croc at the zoo and all the food he eats( none of it healthy). Cleverly done and can be sung to the tune of Twelve days of Christmas. Fun storytime read if you can make it through the repetitiveness. Would be great for preschool and early school age kids. Could divide them up to help with the verses. My coworker may turn it into a felt story. Bright illustrations and a quirky ending.
January 13, 2023
I loved this enchanting little book about a hungry crocodile, which involved me singing (once more) at my class of five and six year olds, and I'm sure it will not be the last time either.
Lots of new vocabulary here to be discovered and it subconsciously seems to have taught them the melody for "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as well.
There is plenty here to be enjoyed over and over again with your little one or people, coupled together with the important message of eating your vegetables.
Lots of new vocabulary here to be discovered and it subconsciously seems to have taught them the melody for "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as well.
There is plenty here to be enjoyed over and over again with your little one or people, coupled together with the important message of eating your vegetables.
January 10, 2022
Fun illustrations, a silly hungry crocodile, and all to the tune of 12 days of Christmas! I do think going all the way up to 12 makes for a long read. Croc certainly chugs lots of coffee which caregivers in our specific neck of the woods might not find kid-friendly. Lots of fun though and I like the bright colors in the illustrations.
February 17, 2022
A bouncy rhyming story about the biggest croc in the world and all the food he eats every hour. This is a snappy There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly meets The Very Hungry Caterpillar crocodile counting book that can be easily sung to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. A fun picture book that works well for reading aloud individually or in group settings.
April 8, 2022
"Hey, you. What are you looking at? I bet you've come to see me. I'm famous ... the BIGGEST croc in the world!"
To be sung to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas, this should be fun at story time. At every strike of the clock, the crocodile eats something different. The illustrations are fun.
To be sung to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas, this should be fun at story time. At every strike of the clock, the crocodile eats something different. The illustrations are fun.
November 29, 2021
You can sing the words to the 12 Days of Christmas song. Every hour on the hour the zoo staff feeds the worlds biggest croc some sugary goodies. Until the end when the zookeeper tries to feed him a green pea, and the croc says he will POP! and the zookeeper says nice try, you need to eat vegetables
January 19, 2022
Adorable verse that can be sung aloud to THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS tune. The reader gets a review of time but also a thought for better eating with a healthy vegetable! The voracious eater in the story is crocodile.
June 11, 2022
Super cute! I laughed and utterly enjoyed singing this aloud to my 8 and 10-year-olds. So what if my kids are older than the intended audience of the book? Cute illustrations and fun alliteration. Right up my alley!
July 15, 2023
I think this would be a great read aloud for kindergarten. As I read it aloud myself, I imagined how much fun it would be to have students model positions of the clock and chant the repeating rhymes. Definitely keeping this one in mind for curricular connections.
October 22, 2025
I liked the book. It would be a good read aloud book especially because it interacts with the reader of the book at the beginning and throughout while your reading it! It’s also funny and about animals so children would love it.
November 10, 2025
A funny picture book that is a parody song off of the Christmas classic "12 Days Christmas" but instead of Christmas themed it is about feeding a crocodile in a zoo. Very cute, fun to read, and fun to look at.
October 21, 2021
It's time to feed the crocodile at the zoo. He gets fed on the hour with a wide range of food. It's the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Cute and funny!
Reviewed from a library copy.
Reviewed from a library copy.
November 26, 2021
Cute. I kinda wish that it was more holiday themed since it used a holiday song as the rhythm. Maybe book 2 will be holiday themed?
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December 3, 2021Can be used in the kindergarten classroom, to teach sequencing.
February 2, 2022
It is like the 12 days of Christmas. They even have 5 donuts in place of the 5 golden rings.
February 3, 2022
A giant crocodile is fed food every hour at the zoo, to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas."
February 4, 2022
Set to the 12 days of Christmas this is a fun story about an insatiable crocodile
February 6, 2022
In this parody of the 12 Days of Christmas a gigantic croc eats his way through the song, on his way to becoming the biggest croc ever.
Cumulative story to a tune many readers are familiar with.
Cumulative story to a tune many readers are familiar with.
February 10, 2022
Really fun to sing!!
February 25, 2022
This is a fun one. Repetitive countdown, like the 12 Days of Christmas.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews