My son loved this book! The illustrations were very entertaining and I loved the challenging vocabulary it included. The faces of those baby crocodiles were so expressive and detailed. I really enjoyed the personification of these animals that most people don't think of as cuddly. It made me smile! I'd happily recommend this book to others!

Thank you Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for access to this arc.

I think this book works on a number of levels to teach children new things and reinforce their ABCs. It’s cute but with a bit of mayhem to keep it from being too sugary. Before really even diving too deeply into Doris’s delinquents’ behavior, children can discover what a gharial is. Yes these are crocodiles but not every day crocodiles. Letters are illustrated not only by objects or behaviors that the little darling delinquents are getting up to but also by each little gharial’s name. Before reading this to children, I would suggest parents/readers preview it because some of the cheeky behaviors (Avery ate a goldfish or Bella bit mom) could be an issue. I also noticed that some of the descriptions could have been placed better with the illustrations and could initially be confusing. B-

This picture book got my attention because of the vocabulary in the title, and I found it very cute and amusing. This is an alphabet book for kids who are already familiar with the alphabet, and who would enjoy seeing it used in an unconventional way. The text and illustrations show the mayhem that some small, toothy alligators get up to at home, and the details are funny and relatable.

I admit that I was so scared of alligators as a child that I would have steered clear of this book, but nothing about the story is frightening. This is a cute family slice-of-life story with a happy ending and no dark twist, and it will appeal to both kids and adults. It also introduces new vocabulary in a seamless way, using creative and unique words to describe recognizable situations.

Poor Doris has got her hands full caring for 26 baby crocodiles. Go through the alphabet and watch as each little rascal misbehaves in its own unique way. Luckily for her, Doris knows exactly what to do to cope with her unruly pack of imps.

The author's illustrations are just a delight, and I love that she chose to focus on a creature that is not traditionally considered "cute."

This was an adorable alphabet book about a mother crocodile, and her 26 troublemaking hatchlings. The story was so cute and fun, and I thought the use of crocodiles specifically was very unique. I also thought the illustrations were gorgeous!

A great story that shows the many ways children can behave. I didn't realize this was going to be an alphabet story until the children's names started coming up. The writing is simple and cute, allowing each child to have their own personality. The artwork reminded me of older works and had a nostalgic feel to them. Would highly recommend for children and storytime.

Poor Doris! She’s the harried mom of 26 alphabetically named toddler crocodiles who drive her as crazy as a crocodile can be. Luckily Dad takes them all for a swim and Doris gets a much needed rest.

This is a delightful story with absolutely adorable pictures. I can’t imagine any child, or the grown up reading the story to them, who would not be in love with this adorable story.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. Highly recommended.

3.7 Stars
Oh, well, lol. Never thought I’d see crocodilians in a domesticated setting. The book is for littles who have learned alphabets and are trying to form words. There isn’t any story here except that the 26 baby gharials are a naughty bunch. Who’d have thought such scary reptiles would look so cute in colorful onesies!
As a fellow reviewer mentioned, gharials are crocodilians from the Indian subcontinent. The illustrations are pretty cool. I like how pastels and softer colors were used to make the reptiles seem friendlier to the kids. The overall color scheme worked well. Not surprising since the book won the Silver medal of the 2020 Key Colors Competition.
Oh, forgot to add that the alliterations made me chuckle throughout. Nice wordplay. ;)
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Clavis Publishing and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Doris' 26 crocodile hatchlings are a handful! Each one is named for a letter of the alphabet and finds a way to misbehave. Their actions also include their letter of the alphabet, so students can hear each letter twice.

The illustrations are muted but have nice detail and little winks of humor. I struggled a bit with the font chosen for the hatchlings' names--it made some difficult to read. This would work as a big group read-aloud, especially if students could be prompted to call out the letters in order.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

What a cute way to teach the ABCs!

Doris has 26 wild babies and each as a name corresponding to the letters of the alphabet (and most have a naughty behavior to go along with it).

This is an amusing story meant for little ones who have just familiarised themselves with the alphabet and want to have some fun with the letters.

Doris is a gharial who lives in a modest home on the banks of a river. She has 26 hatchlings, and are they naughty or what!!! Each of the 26 baby gharials is named for a letter of the alphabet, and thus, their antics are revealed letter by letter. By the time Z arrives, Mamma Gharial is tired and she calls on Daddy for some swimming time for the kids.

The alliterative title gives you a clue about what role letters play in this alphabet story. Each baby gharial’s mischief is also alliterative, either through the action/verb (such as “Bella bit mom”, “Dawson destroyed the toaster”) or through a quality/adjective (“Samuel was sassy “). This works as a simple and entertaining refresher through the 26 letters as well as provides some nice new words for youngsters to learn. Some of the connections in the letters were forced but I guess kids would enjoy them. They will also love looking at the naughtiness of the little gharials.

I liked the choice of having this story narrated through the fearsome gharial who doesn’t seem at all scary in this story. But I must clarify one thing. Saying “gharial crocodile”, as the book does many a time, is an error. The creature’s name is “gharial”, and it is not a crocodile but a crocodilian that belongs to the same reptilian family as crocodiles. Thus they are closely related to crocodiles but they aren’t crocodiles. They are native to the Indian subcontinent and their hallmark is that long narrowed snout which is perfect for grabbing fish.

This book was the Silver medal winner of the 2020 Key Colors Competition, and the illustrations show why. The sketches are quite basic but utterly funny. They aren’t too vivid but inked in simple pastel shades. As gharials are mainly found in Asia, seeing them in Western outfits such as smocks and baby onesies was hilarious. The long snouts of the crocodilian is optimally used to make their reactions appear even funnier.

Recommended only to beginner readers who would like to make their way through the alphabet along with some naughty gharial babies. (They need to know their ABCs to get the maximum out of this book.)

3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.

My thanks to Clavis Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “Doris' Dear Delinquents”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Doris' Dear Delinquents is a book about a huge family of crocodiles who get up to no good. This book was so unbelievably cute. The illustrations were amazing, they made this book what it is. Lucas was my favorite. Also, it's a great way to help teach kids the alphabet. I totally recommend this book.

The book is filled with humorous illustrations that depict toddler and/or child antics.
The lines were rhythmic and easy to read - loved the last page of 'relaxation'. Some clever use of alliteration also helped to read with ease. Lovely and funny book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Clavis for a free digital copy.

A fun take on an alphabet book. Doris has 26 hatchlings, whose names all begin with a different letter from A to Z. They all have different funny quriks and she is trying to make peace in her home. I thought it was amusing.

Doris' Dear Delinquents is a cute picture book about a mamma crocodile who hatches 26 babies, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each little croc gives mamma trouble in a different way, illustrated with lovely illustrations in muted colors. The end of the story is a bit abrupt and doesn't flow with the rest of the story. It would feel less abrupt without that final, unnecessary sentence, which addresses concerns of adults but is irrelevant to children.

A sweet picturebook that follows 26 crocodiles representing the ABC's. Very short and simple. The artwork is also quite nice and matches the mood of the story well.

This book was cute and simple. Crocodile mother Doris has 26 hatchlings - the book takes us through each one for each letter of the alphabet as we learn why they're all a handful!

I didn't know I would enjoy this alphabet book as much as I did. Doris and her hatchlings are cute (well, as cute as crocodiles can be) and their antics are amusing. The crocodiles also wear clothes, which is probably the most hilarious part of the book. So many hatchlings in overalls! Well, except for Lucas...

My one complaint is that the layout is not consistent, and some of the text seems to be misplaced, especially on pages where there's more than one thing going on. On more than one occasion, the text for one illustration seems to be swapped with the text for another illustration on the same page. You can figure it out if you look closely at the pictures, but there's really no reason for it to be this confusing.

That aside, this is a unique, entertaining alphabet book that kids will probably enjoy.

A fun look at a large family of baby crocodiles, all up to no good. It's a helpful alphabet revision tool, but to make it a wonderful book the narrative needed a punchline that was lacking. Still, strong visuals do go somewhat to showing the chaos of a large family of young critters, putting the 'snapper' into whipper-snapper.

Doris' Dear Delinquents is a unique and hilarious ABC book about 26 mischievous crocodile babies. I loved the vintage-style illustrations. and some of the antics and situations were so hilarious. Each letter is for a crocodile name that starts with the letter and gives an alliterative example. "Avery Ate the goldfish, Bella Bit Mom..." Preschool children and adults will really enjoy this one!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.