Madame Bodot, who lives in a little French town, has a rather unusual pet, sent to her by her son from Africa in an O-shaped box. She names her pet Crictor which of course rhymes with ____________. Crictor is a very friendly and helpful snake, and Madame Bodot does all sorts of kind things to make Crictor happy in her home in France. However, the climax of the story is when Crictor frees Madame Bodot from the clutches of an evil robber!

Crictor joins Curious George and Carl the Dog as a pet who is more than just a pet; he’s a helper, a companion and a friend. French-Alsatian author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer tells Crictor’s story simply with cartoon-like illustration that remind me somewhat of James Thurber’s drawings.

Susan Hirschman, the founder and former publisher of Greenwillow Books, once said: “Crictor by Tomi Ungerer is perfect, in my opinion, because of what it leaves out of the words and puts into the pictures. You have to read the book several times before you see all the details that could so easily have been in the text but are not-because they are in the pictures.”

Biography of Tomi Ungerer.
A tribute to Tomie Ungerer by Peter Sis.

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.