This book tells the story of the alligator, Harold, hiding from the zoo detective that accused his of eating a pet dog. Understanding of his situation, Max the duck knew that he should help him because he understood Harold's position. Once the other animals that Irene rescued helped him hide and fed him so he would eat them, they became friends. The detective returned to right the wrong they made. This was a cute picture book that I think children of all ages would enjoy. It tells the story of understanding and friendship, and I feel as though all children should be read this book because it shows that people can be friend no matter the race, size, color, or species. ( )

Great story of friendship and taking chances. Max, Brody, and other scared animals hide a alligator until its time for him to go home. ( )

An alligator escapes from the zoo and tries to find help at Irene's place. All the animals who live there are really scared of him except for the duck. They try to make a plan how they can hide the alligator from the zoo detective and in the end they get really good friends. A lovely story which is very nice illustrated! ( )

I've decided that it doesn't matter what I think - it only matters if kids will read a book, and let me just say, that they loved Max the duck. I chuckled; the kids laughed out loud. Max's adventures begin with [b:Duck at the Door|426085|Duck at the Door|Jackie Urbanovic|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174642139s/426085.jpg|415143]. Instead of flying south one Winter, he wants to see if he'll love it as much as he does Spring. All of his feathered friends leave him behind and he is left in a winter blizzard. Max is accepted into Irene's house of many pets and settles right in, much to the dismay of the other animals! When Winter comes again, all the other animals miss Max, but does he miss them?!? The adventures continue with [b:Duck Soup|2619209|Duck Soup|Jackie Urbanovic|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1213109928s/2619209.jpg|2643867], another book accepted by the kids, and finally with the latest book, [b:Duck and Cover|6185140|Duck and Cover|Jackie Urbanovic|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tlZw+8qiL._SL75_.jpg|6365365]. Go quackers! Check out Max :) There are some fun downloadables on Urbanovic's website too. ( )

Harold, a zoo alligator who was accused of eating someone's pet, pleads for help at Irene's house. Irene and all of her pets are terrified of Harold because he looks big, scary, and hungry. Max, a duck, knows what it feels like to plead for help so he decides that he wants to do Harold a favor. After convincing Irene to let him in the animals try to hide Harold from the police who are looking for him. Harold is very nice but the animals and Irene are still scared so they keep him very well fed. Later, a policeman comes to the door and says that there has been a mistake. Harold did not eat a pet dog he ate a girl's hot dog. Harold is no longer in trouble so he goes home to the zoo despite how he does not want to leave his new family. This is a story of new friendships and learning to create friendships with people that may not have many friends due to their appearance or history. I would like to share this book during story time and have students use a lot of prediction because there are many instances where readers will naturally ask themselves "What will happen next?" I would like to have students explore the theme of "do not judge based on appearance" through drawing a picture of a scary monster but then explaining what makes the monster's personality so nice, just like Harold. ( )