The Crocodile who Didn't like Water by Gemma Merino

Do not rush into this book - turn the first pages slowly. You will see a basket of eggs. Nearly all of them are blue but wait one is white. Then on the next page the basket is picked up by a large crocodile wearing red ankle length lace up boots. 

"Once upon a time, there was a little crocodile. And this little crocodile didn't like water."

He watches his brothers and sisters swimming but he would rather climb a tree. Little crocodile saves his money from the tooth fairy and he buys a rubber swim ring but this doesn't really solve his problem. Little crocodile just does not fit in and he is growing way bigger than the others. Then one day he sneezes a huge sneeze and wow - he breathes fire. 

Now turn to the final end paper - a dragon wearing red rubber boots is reading a book "The Dragon who didn't like Fire" and she has her basket of eggs - nearly all of them are white but tucked in you will spy one blue egg. What will happen next?

There are a lot of picture books with a similar theme or focus to this book - The Crocodile who didn't like Water.  These are questions all children ask at some time:

Where do I fit in?

Why am I different from ... ?

What is special about me?

Is this really my family?

I found this list of 25 themes in Children's literature and quite a few of them apply to this book:

Family Relationships; Accepting Differences; Bravery and Courage; Self-Concept; Perseverance and Persistence; and Growing Up. 

Every element of the picture book is in play here -- endpapers that foreshadow the big reveal and cheekily suggest an epilogue; touches of red in the largely green world that mark our hero as an outsider (viz. his tiny red rubber boots); page design that makes us feel his loneliness; emotion-steeped characters whose dot eyes convey trepidation, shock, joy, tentativeness, exhilaration; just enough typographical shenanigans; a pared-down text with one perfect neologism.  Horn Book

This book is filled with humour, but it is touching as well. It is one of those books that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling and a smile on your face. 'The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water' is a beautiful story about finding your own wings. It is perfect for children who feel like they just don't fit in. It shows them sometimes being like everyone else isn't the most important thing. Sometimes you just need to stretch your wings and be yourself. Book Bag

You can see Gemma talking about her book. Here are the three other books in this series by Gemma Merino:

The most obvious comparison book to go with The Crocodile who didn't like Water is The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. 

Here are some other books to explore:

Happy Hippo

Little Platypus

The Ugly Duckling

Little Nelly's Big Book