Unlike other crocodiles, Cornelius walks upright, sees things, and does tricks no other crocodile can. The other crocodiles aren’t impressed. At first, Cornelius is disappointed, but things aren’t always what they seem, and life on the riverbeach is about to undergo some big changes.

Leo Lionni was an author and illustrator of children’s books. Born in Holland, he moved to Italy and lived there before moving to the United States in 1939, where he worked as an art director for several advertising agencies, and then for Fortune magazine. He returned to Italy in 1962 and started writing and illustrating children’s books. In 1962 his book Inch by Inch was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.