Lyle, the crocodile, is a friendly and lovable creature who lives in a house on East 88th Street in New York City. Lyle is known for helping the Primm family with their chores and schoolwork and playing with Joshua and his friends in the neighborhood. But not everyone loves Lyle—his neighbor, Mr. Grumps, hates him because Lyle scares his cat, Loretta. Lyle tries to win over Mr. Grumps, but everything he does seems to go wrong. One day, Lyle is thrown into the zoo by Mr. Grumps, but he is eventually freed by his old performing partner, Mr. Valenti, whose intent is for him and Lyle to go to Australia and become entertainers again as they had been in the past. However, this idea saddened Lyle, who preferred to go home to the Primm family. Mr. Valenti decided to return to the Primm family home on 88th Street to let Lyle see it one last time, only to find Mr. Grumps’ house on fire. Lyle courageously rescues Mr. Grumps and Loretta and is declared a hero. As a result, Lyle is allowed to stay with the Primm family and is finally accepted by Mr. Grumps and Loretta. Lyle teaches the characters in the story that they should not judge others based on their appearances but rather love and accept people (and crocodiles) for who they are.