Tina is given a very odd looking egg by her Uncle Ezra, so she wraps it in a soft blanket and puts it on her bedside table. That night, the egg hatches and out pops a baby alligator! Tina names him Alberto – Alberto Alligator. Their friendship blossoms and they spend their evenings dancing to Alberto’s favourite record – the tango. Life is wonderful, until one day, disaster strikes! Alberto is flushed down the toilet in a freak dancing accident! How will Alberto find his way home through the labyrinthine underground tunnels to be reunited with Tina? A fantastic story of friendship, with beautifully atmospheric, exciting illustrations from new illustrator, Holly Swain.
Age: 3 - 7 years | Size: 240 x 300 mm | Pages: 32 p
Author: Richard Waring | Publisher: Gullane Children's Books | ISBN/EAN: 978-18623346 Recognition 
Winner of the Stockport Schools' Book Award, 2003
Developmental Benefits
Personal Review
This is one of my firm favourites! The captivating storyline coupled with the fantastic full-page illustrations are great and I immediately fell in love with this book the first time I read it. I had read this book to many groups of children at different schools, aged between 2-6 years old and it always received fantastic response from them.
Tina's pet alligator, Alberto, falls down the toilet one day and has a an exciting adventure down at the city's sewage systems (this is great for explaining to children what our sewage system might look like). The children absolutely love the detailed pictures showing Alberto's great exploration in the pipes. While trying to find his way home, Alberto ends up in lots of different bathrooms in town and this sets off a frantic search for 1000 alligators on the loose which amuses the children to no end because they know there really is only one friendly alligator that's causing all the fear in town!
