ALA Booklist (Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Carter the crocodile stars in his second book (Open Very Carefully, 2013) and needs assistance finding his way home. Children are encouraged to help him in this title that works for one-on-one reading as well as in group settings. Audience participation is requested throughout the book, and listeners are encouraged to clap, draw shapes, and blow as they aid Carter on his journey. A hummingbird accompanies the croc as he finds himself in situations clearly unsuitable for a large reptile. As Carter leaves each unsatisfactory place, another critter tags along crab, a penguin, a meerkat. At the story's conclusion, attentive listeners will be able to answer the posed question: "Where did these other animals come from?" One missed opportunity: the circles, oval, square, and rectangle children are asked to draw are never named. Colorful double-page spreads with cutouts will easily capture the attention of the intended audience. Children will become engaged and have fun helping Carter in successfully ending his search.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Carter, the crocodile previously seen in Open Very Carefully, needs readers- help to get home in this metafictional follow-up. As in the previous book, an unseen narrator directs the action, asking readers to trace dotted lines to create a series of doors for Carter to travel through. The doors, which appear as die-cuts, take Carter to ocean, desert, and snowy landscapes, requiring additional intervention (-Let-s try to get rid of the snow. Can you turn the book upside down and shake the snow out?-) O-Bryne builds light suspense (-I do hope he isn-t going to eat us-) while giving readers an active role in helping Carter make it back to his swampy lagoon. Ages 3-7. (Jan.)

School Library Journal (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

PreS-Gr 1 In the vein of Hervé Tullet's Press Here , this interactive narrative places readers in charge of helping crocodile Carter, who is lost, return home. A clap turns on the "light" and readers may see that the hard to please and snappish Carter pleads candidly with a painted sign; "Please help me find my way home or I will eat you." Drawing large circles or squares allows the large reptile to squeeze through or lumber forth to the next page. Children are urged to "jiggle and wiggle" the book, blow Carter dryall to help him find the right place. Too wet, too cold, "shake the snow" out of the book." Too hot? Draw another door to escape to a cooler place. Digitally created cartoon art accentuates the shading of entrances and exitsactual cut outsfrom page to page. The narrator has a sympathetic ear for poor Carter, but the crocodile has an unsmiling visageglowing, grim eyes that should terrify the small meerkat, penguin, crab, and hummingbird in his immediate vicinity. VERDICT A lighthearted adventure for a most unlikely group of new friends, this suggested general purchase will have the youngest readers eager to clap, draw, jiggle, wiggle, blow, shake, and get Carter home. Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Kirkus Reviews

Doorways traced with a fingertip become die-cut portals on following pages as O'Byrne invites readers to help an errant crocodile find a suitable home.Starting off in darkness, the cartoon illustrations are "illuminated" by a hand clap and a page turn to reveal a big, surly-looking crocodile named Carter—who, as a sign indicates, needs help to find his way home. Tracing a circle on the facing page and thinking of a wet place lands the green grumbler in a stormy ocean. Whoops! How about a better habitat? As Carter the croc is a hefty sort, "pushing" and "jiggling" is also sometimes needed to get him through each successive entryway, and readers can also blow him dry along with other participatory actions. After landing in snow and in desert sand, Carter at last fetches up in a comfy tropical river. Aaah—his snarl becomes a blissful smile. In one oddly gender-bending early scene he clutches a pair of seashells to his (featureless) chest and lets seaweed dangle over his (equally featureless) crotch. Younger readers, at least, will probably just find that funny and follow the instructions to keep tracing, pushing, and, finally, bidding him, as well as the meerkat and other companions who have hitched rides along the way, loud goodbyes (for now). An adventure in interactive reading, like Hervé Tullet's Press Here (2011) but with a plot. (Picture book. 5-7)