Riles the Crocodile

a book by Eric Brown

illustrated by Dani Alvarez

Riles has two best friends, Phanny the elephant and Whirly the water buffalo.

Riles is a crocodile that lives along the Nile.

Mom Dad Whirly Phanny

Riles lives with her two parents in a cozy and spacious water hole.

The three friends would swim and play all day long in the cozy water hole.

When it came time for dinner Phanny and Whirly would eat pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, and whatever they wanted.

Riles was a special crocodile though, and could not eat everything that Phanny and Whirly would eat.

Riles felt sad that she could not join her two best friends at dinnertime.

?

One day after a long day of splashing and swimming, Riles asked her mommy crocodile why she couldn’t eat whatever she wanted like Phanny and Whirly.

“Well Riles, you have a special condition that doesn’t allow you to eat foods with proteins.”

Mommy replied, “Proteins are in foods to help little crocodiles grow big and strong, proteins are in many foods including the foods Phanny and Whirly eat.”

Riles’ mommy told her that she was a very special crocodile that could not eat certain foods.

“How come mommy?” asked the little crocodile.

“Well I want to eat the same foods as my friends mommy” said the sad Riles.

“Proteins mommy?” asked Riles.

The next day when Riles was swimming with Phanny and Whirly, Riles was very sad.

Riles said, “everyday you and Phanny get to eat whatever you want and I am always left out. My mommy told me that I can not eat the same foods as you because I am special, which makes me sad.”

Whirly asked, “What’s wrong Riles? Why are you so sad?”

Whirly and Phanny both felt bad for their best friend Riles and decided to come up with a plan for Riles to feel like she was a part of the gang at dinner.

After playing all day long in the water hole, Whirly and Phanny made a plan to make Riles a really good dinner to eat with them at dinnertime.

Whirly decided that he would go out along the banks of the Nile and gather all the vegetables he could fi nd. Phanny went out to fi nd all the fruit she could fi nd.

When Riles arrived for dinner her two friends shouted, “Riles, Riles, please join us for this dinner we prepared specially for you!”

Riles looked around at all the delicious fruits and vegetables that her friends had gathered for her...

...and had a smile as big as the Nile.

the end.