There's What in the Attic?

The House on East 88th Street and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber

A family moves into a new house only to find that a crocodile already lives there.

So, the idea of a crocodile living with a family is a fun idea.  But I'm not sure why these stories became so popular.  I can get over the fact that people are happy for their children to be playing with a crocodile, it is fiction after all.  But he is living in a house all by himself and no one wonders how he is surviving.  And the man who got Lyle into show business is a terrible person.  Am I supposed to hate him?  Because I do.  I don't even think Lyle likes him that much.  But then he acts like they are good friends.  So that relationship confused me.  Maybe I am just too cynical.  Maybe a more light hearted person (like a child) would be able to overlook all the odd bits that bothered me.  I won't be reading the rest of the books in the series.  But if you want to try them make sure you start with The House on East 88th Street, that is the first one and some of the stuff in Lyle, Lyle Crocodile I found confusing until I went back to the beginning.

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile starring Winslow Fegley and Javier Bardem

A family moves into a new house only to find that a singing crocodile lives in the attic.

Lyle is cute.  And you do warm up to him just like the family he lives with does.  It's a fun story with a villain who is suitably scummy and a nice heart warning ending.  But why can Lyle sing but not talk?  That bothers me.  Just have a talking crocodile, or not.  I do like the relationship Lyle has with the pampered cat next door.  It is fun to watch and I think kids with like it.  But for me it is just average.

How does the movie compare to the book?  A lot of the same elements and scenarios show up in both.  And the story is pretty much the same story, with slight variations.  The biggest difference is that Lyle can sing in the movie but not the books.  But in the books Lyle is a performer so it isn't totally off base.  I think the book to movie transition was a good one.   I think I liked the movie slightly better because it seemed to have a little more explanation of how everything came about.  (Not how Lyle came to be able to sing, unfortunately.  But you can't have everything.)   And the entertainer who got Lyle into show business was more firmly put in the villain category so I didn't have to wonder about that relationship.  I think the movie is worth a look but I wouldn't recommend the books.