Guji Guji is a crocodile, who, through the event of his egg rolling down a hill is born into a family of ducks. His family accepts him for who he is. His croc family tries to win him back and eat the ducks for dinner, but the ducks win out in the end. This is a story full of love, acceptance and self-discovery.
I’m liking
This is a lovely story to read. It’s wonderful that Gecko Press brings the best in quirky and interesting reads to the NZ market, and this is no exception. This one is fun and you won’t mind reading it repeatedly. My preschooler loves the way the ducks (with ‘crocoduck’) come together to conspire against the crocs in the end.
The illustrations, cleverly put together by the author, are adorable.
Things that made me go hmmmm
It would be easy to think of this as an adoption story, but it doesn’t fit that mould very well. The crocodile family are frankly a bit scary and although dealt with lightheartedly, they’re definitely the ‘baddies’ in a way you wouldn’t want to polarise one side of an adoption relationship.
The crocodiles would likely be pretty scary to some small kids, so if they’re super sensitive, be aware of that.
The conclusion
With lots of lessons about being inclusive towards folks that look a little different to us, and the many different ways a family can be – everyone in our house likes to read this curiously good book.
This book was kindly provided for review purposes by Gecko Press.
