Ralphie and the Swamp Baby

I work in a teacher education program. This book is perfect because it's charming and whimsical yet doesn't talk down to its audience. Rubin's dry wit complements her expressive illustrations--parents and teachers will find laugh-out-loud moments for themselves. Does anyone know of other books by Vicky Rubin?

Ralphie gets five stars because:Star 1 - It's a funny book. Like when he took the egg to the stork.Star 2 - It's a cute book. When the baby alligator hatches.Star 3 - It's a nice plot. Star 4 - She uses good words.Star 5 - It has a nice ending.

I think this book is very weird and funny. It is about an alligator that doesn't like the new egg and at the end the egg hatches and becomes a baby and he likes the baby and they all cheer.The eyes of the alligator look like a swamp monster to me. When it cracks open all the way it looks cuter.I think you should read this book. It is really fun.

Children feeling anxious about the arrival of a new sibling will enjoy Ralphie and the Swamp Baby, a strong story softened with humor and breezy watercolors by author and illustrator, Vicky Rubin. Ralphie is an alligator whose family lives in a swamp. He's an only-gator-child used to winning mud-wrestling trophies and receiving his family's undivided attention. Ralphie's star crashes when a usurper, an egg containing his future brother or sister, appears on the scene. Immediately Ralphie "turns emerald with envy" and suffers as everyone's attention turns from Ralphie to the egg. Ralphie's parents have told him that the stork brought the egg and so Ralphie, in a fit of logic and anger, turns their story to his advantage. Ralphie's expressions are full of feeling and wickedly true. He goes from exuberance to dejection to anger in the first few pages. Children looking at the pictures will know exactly what Ralphie is feeling. The text is equally vivid and wry, as in this example about the egg: "Everyone read to it, sang to it and decorated its room. It even got phone calls." Older children will enjoy the author's tongue-in-cheek humor. Rubin pokes fun at the stork-brought-the-egg story, and she pitches another good line about "What do bears do?" when it comes to eggs. This story is funnier with each read, with loads of lively details to discover each time.

This book is just delightful. My grandson adores Ralphie, who's also a lovable devil. When Ralphie comes home with a mud-wrestling trophy (he's a dino), he find his parents all mushy about something else. An egg! Their egg! Ralphie's antics are hilarious as he tries to get rid of the sibling-to-be but just in time, he changes his mind. The illustrations are great, too, with lots of sly jokes that you may miss the first time. We love Ralphie!