Trosclair and the Alligator

by Peter Huggins, Lindsey Gardiner (Illustrator)

Bank Street College "Best Children's Books of the year 2007" and CCBC Choices 2007


Teaching Tools Available

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of the storyline. Kids need not be cunning and playing mind games.
The illustration and the lines were amazing though.

[Mavis’s Dad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tonight was the night I realized Mavis pays attention to what we’re reading. No spoilers, but there’s a scene in Trosclair and the Alligator where Mavis said “Uh oh,” before the action happened. So this review is biased.

Moral: You, too, can neutralize an alligator.

Length: There seems to be some unnecessary explanations amidst the text, but nothing that should detract you from getting this done before bedtime.

Favorite Line: “‘I tell you what you do, boy. You trow dat dog down to me, and I leave you alone, eh?’”

Overall Impression: The geography of this book in the bayou of Louisiana coupled with fun dialect and an entertaining enough story won me over, even before Mavis’s reaction to a scene featuring bees. I’m terrified of alligators at the zoo, so I wish I was as brave as Trosclair and his dog.

[Salima Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a little boy from New Orleans that loves to visit the swamp. However, an alligator moved in and eats everything that comes by, so Trosclair is told not to go. Trosclair goes anyway with his little dog and while climbing a tree, sees the alligator. Trosclair finds a way to trick the alligator and get hime to leave forever. Children love this story and laugh at Trosclair's clever trick.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book if you love anything southern-especially the bayou. The story is cute and the author has written in the dilect (made easy-to read). The best, most fun part of this book though, are the illustrations. So fun. They are colorful and busy enough to keep kids entertained but tame enough not to make mom and dad's heads spin. This may be put on my list of to-buy books.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

We saw this one on Between the Lions. I liked the setting of this book since it was rather unique. The plot and characters were not though. It was a pretty simple story of a boy outsmarting a villain, in this case an alligator.

[Janae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would read this to a 4-8 year old. The story takes place in the Louisiana Bayou and uses some of the dialect from the area. Trosclair and his dog, Ollie, outsmart the swamp's scariest alligator.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful story with bright and colorful illustrations.

[8feetahead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darling illustrations and a delightful story about and young boy and his dog out witting a hungry alligator on the Louisiana bayou.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darling illustrations and a delightful story about and young boy and his dog out witting a hungry alligator on the Louisiana bayou.

[Terry]

Go to the Reading Tub to see our review of this engaging story.