Cacophony Concert: Ellie in Concert by Mike Wu

ON A WARM SUMMER DAY, ELLIE STROLLED THROUGH HER HOME.

Thanks to Ellie's awesome artistic efforts, the old zoo has been remade anew. In their comfy new quarters, the zoo residents are cheery. Every one of the animals welcomes Ellie with loud greetings.

Hippo snorts, Rhino grunts, and the monkeys hoot out their hello to Ellie. Everyone is bright and cheery, excited about seeing all their new visitors at opening time--all except for Lucy the Giraffe, who is indeed looking listless.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?" ELLIE ASKED.

"THE ZOO IS TOO NOISY.

I CAN'T SLEEP!" MOANED LUCY.

That is too bad. Ellie raises her voice to request that the others keep their noise down, but they can't even hear her over the cacophony of critter sounds. But one sound stands out--Betty Bluebird's melodic song, and Ellie gets an idea. What if she could organize the zoo animals into a chorus--one that actually sounds...well..,GOOD?

Who can help all the animals sound soothing so Lucy can sleep?

It's Gerard the Gorilla, lover of the symphony orchestra to the rescue, and with a little cajoling and rather a lot of rehearsing, the zoo animals learn to blend their voices into a soothing chorus of sound.

"NOW THIS IS MUSIC!

ISN'T THIS GREAT, LUCY?" ASKS ELLIE.

But Lucy is already in dreamland, in Mike Wu's brand-new second story of Ellie, Ellie in Concert Disney Hyperion, 2017). Wu's gentle tale of turning cacophony into harmony is illustrated in his softly shaded hues executed in watercolors, gouache, and pencil, making this zoo story also a soothing bedtime story,with the added bonus of Gerard's zoo symphony, "Betty's Theme," composed by Andrew Jimenez, printed as sheet music inside the dust jacket. Share this one with Wu's first book about his resourceful little elephant heroine, Ellie (read review here).