A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist join forces to give an overscheduled princess a day off — and a deliciously wicked crocodile a day on. Princess Cora is sick of boring lessons. She’s sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She’s sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won’t let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn’t expect that help to come in the form of a crocodile —a crocodile who does not behave properly. With perfectly paced dry comedy, children’s book luminaries Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Floca send Princess Cora on a delightful outdoor adventure — climbing trees! getting dirty! having fun! — while her alter ego wreaks utter havoc inside the castle, obliging one pair of royal helicopter parents to reconsider their ways. Gr 1–4—Little Cora is an old-fashioned princess with a decidedly contemporary problem: her well-meaning parents have overscheduled her with improving experiences, and she just wants a day off. Failing at her less than assertive attempts to convince the adults of her castle to give her a break, she calls on her fairy godmother for assistance. The help comes in the form of a gigantic crocodile who dons Cora's frilly pink dress and takes her place in the princess's daily routine of excessive bath taking, spreadsheet review, and calisthenics in the dungeon-turned-gym. Schlitz's narrative is incredibly entertaining, with chapters that alternate between chaos at the castle and Cora's meandering day in the woods and pastures. Featuring Floca's hysterical full-color artwork, the book is laugh-out-loud funny. The crocodile's expressive, snaggle-toothed face and extreme body language clearly convey his frustration with Cora's required activities, and his eventual shutdown of each oblivious adult is a bored child's dream come true. The fable is reminiscent of the finest adult-comeuppance collaborations of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, with the added bonus that the princess learns to speak up for herself and the grown-ups learn to listen. The book's trim size and artwork will appeal to fans of Kate DiCamillo's "Mercy Watson" series, and the elegant prose reads aloud beautifully. VERDICT This delightful illustrated chapter book is a first purchase for all elementary schools and public libraries.—Beth Wright Redford, Richmond Elementary School Library, VT The Newbery medalist (for “Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!”) Laura Amy Schlitz’s witty writing matches perfectly with the energetic watercolors by Brian Floca, who won the Caldecott Medal for “Locomotive.” I dare you not to laugh at the pink-frocked reptile desperately trying to jump rope. —The New York Times Book Review An accomplished storyteller who knows her audience, Schlitz offers an original tale that seamlessly combines reality, magic, and wit. Floca’s expressive pencil, watercolor, and gouache artwork perfectly captures the characters...this early chapter book is beautifully designed for newly independent readers. For younger children, it’s a memorable choice for reading aloud in the home or classroom. Either way, it’s great fun. —Booklist (starred review) Legions of schoolchildren will empathize with overscheduled Princess Cora...In illustrations that amplify Schlitz’s wry humor, Caldecott Medalist Floca ( Locomotive ) produces a reptile that delightfully runs amuck. A mop wig and frilly dress let princess and croc to swap places, allowing Cora much-needed freedom while the crocodile trades insults with the Queen (“Reptile!” “Mammal!”) and gnaws on the fitness-obsessed King (just a little). Utterly charming from start to finish. —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Schlitz’s narrative is incredibly entertaining, with chapters that alternate between chaos at the castle and Cora’s meandering day in the woods and pastures. Featuring Floca’s hysterical full-color artwork, the book is laugh-out-loud funny...The fable is reminiscent of the finest adult-comeuppance collaborations of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, with the added bonus that the princess learns to speak up for herself and the grown-ups learn to listen. —School Library Journal (starred review) Seven spry chapters detail Cora’s much-needed day off and the crocodile’s humorous attempts to impersonate her. Copious ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are both delicate in their sensibility (the way princesses often are in classic tales) and witty in their execution (i.e., the crocodile is very poorly disguised). —Horn Book The crocodile's antics are juxtaposed against Cora's pastoral day and enhanced by Floca's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, which superbly amplify the story's emotional arc. All ends happily...A clever tale packed with wry wit and charming illustrations. —Kirkus Reviews Floca’s crocodile achieves sly, good-natured ferocity tempered by the delicacy of the ink, watercolor and gouache illustrations, and the humans are just as serious and glum as they should be