Funny, Funny Lyle (by Bernard Waber)

Lyle the crocodile is happy to have his mom at home and spreading joy throughout the neighborhood. But Lyle learns that even mothers can make mistakes when she is arrested. Meanwhile, surrogate mom, Mrs. Primm, is pregnant. The addition of Lyle's mom to the series takes a surprising but interesting turn.

 

Written more than a decade after the previous book in the Lyle series, this book reflects changing times: door locks are now necessary, and Lyle worries about defending the house against burglary. But the warmth of the series hasn't changed. Waber once again makes it look easy to address complicated ideas in a picture-book format. His cartoony line drawings are more colorful than ever and filled with detail, like the pictures in the original Babar book. And, as in the Babar series, life continues to have its ups and downs, but each new event leads to new opportunity.

The author also introduces some moral complexity. Though he practices defending the house from burglars, Lyle must deal with seeing his mother's arrest for theft, although it is clearly cultural naiveté that causes her to commit the crime. She pays her dues in a way that integrates her into society, but at the cost of losing time spent with Lyle. This strand of the story can lead to some interesting parent-child discussions.

Author: Bernard Waber
Illustrator: Bernard Waber
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
Publication date: January 1, 1987
Number of pages: 40
Paperback price: $6.95