"How Can That Be?" Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees by Russ Willms

THERE ONCE WAS A BIG BUSHY TREE WITH A FAT TRUNK WHICH SAT IN THE MIDDLE OF A WIDE MEADOW. MANY ANIMALS MADE THIS TREE THEIR HOME. . . .

Until the day an elephant moved right in.

"THIS IS MY NEW HOME!" SAID LARRY.

"ELEPHANTS DO NOT BELONG IN TREES!" THE OTHERS SAID.

Larry took up too much space in the tree. Bird wanted her babies' nest safe. Squirrel wanted access to his nut storage space. Monkey wanted to swing through the branches safely. Elephant is too big! But their grumbling didn't budge Larry.

But, WAIT! What's that?</p>

VROOM!

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

It was a BULLDOZER! And it was trying to push down their TREE! This cannot BE! But what can a bunch of little-bitty animals do to stop a bulldozer?

But Larry is BIG! He reaches down from his perch with his long trunk and slurps up all the pond water his long trunk can hold and . . .

SPLOOOOOSH!

And when Larry blows the bulldozer away, the others decide that maybe Larry does fit in after all, in Russ Willms' Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees (Orca, 2021). A friend in need is a friend indeed, and perhaps Larry is just the right size to share their tree. With comical characters and an unexpected surprise slapstick ending, preschoolers will love read-alouds of this simple story, while primary graders who can read this book themselves will understand this little lesson in finding a unusual friend in unexpected places.

Says School Library Journal, "Filled with delightful onomatopoeia and expressive changes in font to aid in dramatic story times, this quirky, humorous story will delight young children and invite discussion on acceptance."

Friendship Blendship: Mistletoe--a Christmas Story by Tad Hills

MISTLETOE GREETS THE CHILLY MORNING! SNOW IS FALLING. FINALLY IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS!

In her bright red boots, mittens and coat and green plaid scarf, Mistletoe loves walking in the snow and can't wait to get her friend Norwell to enjoy it with her.

But Norwell the elephant doesn't like the cold snow. Instead, he invites Mistletoe in for a warm cup of tea, and they spend the day trimming Norwell's Christmas tree. Mistletoe gets her snowy walk going back home as the world fills with snow and the evening turns blue. She still wishes Norwell would walk with her.

But the next day Mistletoe has an idea. She climbs up to the attic and brings down boxes and boxes of yarn left over from projects.

"YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH YARN!" SHE SAYS.

Mistletoe knits nonstop, finding out that it IS possible to need more yarn, which she goes out in the snow to buy.

She knits everywhere, even in the bathtub! At last she folds up her knitting, and loads it up on her sled and walks to Norwell's house, still hoping for a walk in the snow with her friend. Norwell greets her with a gift, his painting of her in the snow. Perfect!

It 'snow surprise to young readers what happens next, in Tad Hills' brand-new Yuletide yarn, Mistletoe: A Christmas Story (Schwartz and Wade, 2020), a happy story of a mouse and elephant in the mold of unlikely friends who find a way to honor each other and their differences, which satisfyingly concludes with a warm-hearted Chrismasy stroll in the snow. Tad Hills' charming illustrations make this one a great gift of a holly-jolly holiday tale. Author-illustrator Tad Hills is also the top-selling creator of How Rocket Learned to Read and sequels and his delightful Duck & Goose series.

Mud-Slinging! Vote for ME! by Ben Clanton

Well, what's so great about YOU?

I'm a super cute elephant!

How can you not vote for someone as adorable as me?

Political speeches are prone to bragging, and Elephant is not above a bit of braggadocio from the podium.

So Donkey tries a bit of bribery:

If you'll vote for me, I'll give you a sucker!

So Elephant ups the ante:

If you pick me, I'll give you PEANUTS!

So the political competitors pivot to some name-calling!

STINKY Poop Scooper!

NINCOMPOOP!

This campaign degenerates into a bit of traditional MUDSLINGING!

SLOP!

PLOP!

It's politics as usual, in Ben Clanton's Vote for Me! (Tundra Books), which offers a satiric look at campaigns and elections which prepares youngsters for some of the usual political palaver in the election scene. Ironically, Clanton gives the clandestine candidate Mouse the win this time, in a silly, sarcastic look at the traditional candidates, but this tongue-in-cheek look at elections make a good jumping-off-point for school and home discussions of the important political scene.

Other top-selling comic offerings by author-illustrator Ben Clanton include Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (A Narwhal and Jelly Book 1), and sequels, Rot, the Cutest in the World! and It Came in the Mail. (read my reviews here).

Dreamin' BIG! Meet Miss Fancy by Irene Latham

Frank loved elephants... their hose-pipe trunks and their flap-flap ears, their tree-stump feet and their swish-swish tales. But not once, not ever, had Frank seen a real elephant.

But then his mother tells him about Miss Fancy, a real elephant who might be coming to Avondale Park, just two blocks from his house, if the school children of Birmingham could collect enough pennies!

Frank was on it in a flash. He collected pennies for his school in a big jar, and all the other schools did, too, and Frank was at the Birmingham's train station when Miss Fancy arrived.

When Miss Fancy stepped onto the platform, he gasped.

Frank couldn't wait to see her at Avondale Park. But when he went down for Miss Fancy's first day, he saw the sign.

NO COLORED ALLOWED.

"It's the law," his mama said.

But Frank had bought a bag of peanuts, and he just had to feed one to Miss Fancy on her opening day. Waiting until almost closing time, he climbed a tree near her fence. He whistled to her and tossed a peanut and laughed when she waggled her trunk and stuffed the peanut in her mouth with what looked like a smile.

Miss Fancy was becoming quite a town celebrity, especially when she opened her gate and took strolls down the city streets of Birmingham, Alabama. Her picture was in all the newspapers, and she was more popular than the Ferris wheel or the boats in Avondale Lake. Still, Frank wanted to feed Miss Fancy from inside the park. He got up a petition for his church to have a special picnic in the park. The city granted the petition, but when some folks threatened to make "trouble," the picnic was cancelled. Frank had to settle for tossing peanuts to Miss Fancy from his tree outside the park walls.

But one morning, Frank woke to a neighbor's scream. "Somebody call the police!" Frank ran to the door.

"Miss Fancy!"

Miss Fancy was trampling through his mother's patch of petunias in his own front yard. Frank watched in horror as she started down the sidewalk toward a busy crossroads with lots of traffic.

There was just one thing to do. Frank grabbed his sack of peanuts and, running ahead of Miss Fancy, laid out a trail of peanuts that led her back toward the park. Miss Fancy followed her friend all the way back to the gates of Avondale Park.

"Good job, son!" said a police officer. He studied Frank for a long moment. "How would you like a ride?"

Frank laid his head against Miss Fancy and breathed in her mud-puddle smell as they paraded right through the gates of Avondale Park.

The story of Birmingham's Miss Fancy is true. My own mother and her brothers and sister told stories of many good times in Avondale Park, no doubt tossing peanuts to Miss Fancy on their way to a summer swim in the lake, and Irene Latham captures the flavor of those long ago summer days in Irene Latham's just published Meet Miss Fancy (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2019).

While Frank is her imagined protagonist, the rest of Latham's story is true, capturing the longing of black children who could not enjoy feeding Miss Fancy and swim in the cool lake on a summer afternoon. But in this Cracker-Jack of a story, Frank is a hero who would have been the envy of every kid in town, and in this lovely story of wishes fulfilled, there is a message of hope for change. Artist John Holyfield's charming retro color paintings, reminiscent of the landmark 1940s Caldecott-winning illustrations of Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings and James Daugherty's Andy and the Lion (Picture Puffins) are both moving and humorous, making this book a must-have for all children's collections.

Up and Down, All Around: A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes

LOOK!

It's lines of parading pastel pachyderms, papas, mamas, and petite baby elephants, five in each panel.

What are they doing?

They parade on each panel, left to right, trunks up, right to left, trunks mostly down, and left to right again, on each page.

BIG AND ROUND AND ROUND THEY ARE.

ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND THEY GO.

The elephants enter a cave-like tunnel. In they go and out they come, holding onto each other's tails to find their way.

The elephants parade all day until night is near. YAWN! They trumpet up good night stars and get ready to sleep under them, all five curled up together.

Kevin Henkes' A Parade of Elephants (HarperCollins, 2018) is the perfect pachyderm parade for the nursery school set, always five elephants, always in a line, demonstrating up and down, in and out, back and forth, and all those directional concept words that little ones need to describe their world.

Kevin Henkes, one of the few creators of children's books to have won both Newbery and Caldecott Awards for insightful novels and brilliantly illustrated picture books, gives us inviting, slightly smudgy blackline illustrations filled in with lightly shaded pastel watercolors of elephants marching, marching, marching, through panels on each page to the music of his simple narration, right into a snuggled bedtime under a starry sky of their own creation." Says Publishers Weekly, "With clear, bold type sized for puzzling out letters, this spare offering will appeal to preschoolers who, like the elephants, are settling down to their starry sleep." "A must purchase for all libraries," School Library Journal adds in their starred review.

The Elephant in the, Um, Intersection: Poe Won't Go by Kelly DePucchio

Prickly Valley has a public problem.

One morning the good people awoke to find an elephant sitting smack dab in the middle of the only road in town.

His name was Poe.

It didn't take long for a traffic jam to form around the uninvited elephant.

Not exactly what everyone wants--a sedentary elephant in the center of the roadway!!

The city's sole thorofare is not passable. Nobody's going anywhere in Prickly Valley until that pachyderm is persuaded to get a move on. Honking horns don't faze him. Parking tickets don't work. Pot-and-pan percussion is not persuasive. Trombone glissandos don't do it. Politicians' orations and proclamations fizzle.

People begged. PLEASE?

And booed. JEEZ!

And bribed. CHEESE?

Mice fail. Magnets don't avail. A magician's disappearing spells don't prevail.

When will Poe go? Nevermore?

Until one little girl named Marigold poses the pertinent question.

"Has anyone asked Poe why he won't GO?"

Marigold is fluent in kitten and articulate in hedgehog, so she agrees to interpret for Poe.

"He says he's waiting for a friend. His friend is very late."

But his expected pal is a lot closer than Poe knows. He's not under Poe's nose, exactly, but even, er, closer... in Kelly DiPucchio's latest, Poe Won't Go (Disney Hyperion, 2018). Author DePucchio's way with a well-placed rhyme and appreciation of absurd plot twists (the townspeople try to lift the recalcitrant pachyderm off his bum with bunches of helium balloons) make for plenty of giggle-bait for youngsters with well-planted page turns. The artwork and hand-lettered text by illustrator Zachariah Ohora is outstanding in its ability to evoke the absurdity of the whole situation and encourage scrutiny of the many characters in the crowd. This one is an engaging read-aloud for preschoolers and a fun read-alone for young readers.

Pleistocene Sanctuary: Elephant Secret by Eric Walters

I was born and raised with elephants. My first word wasn't Daddy; it was Ella, which is what I used to call them. My father had never been much for taking pictures, but almost all the pictures of me growing up had an elephant in them. When I drew pictures of my family in school, I always included me, my father, and the rest of our herd.

Since her mother died just after her birth, thirteen-year-old Samantha has lived at their elephant sanctuary with her father and the herd. Trixie, the matriarch elephant, has been a sort of mother figure, Raja, the goofy teenager who splashes with her in the pond, is like a pesky older brother, and the rest of the females, especially Daisy Mae, are like aunts to her. Now Daisy Mae is expecting a baby in a month or so, and with school vacation ahead Sam is looking forward to spending her summer helping with a new elephant baby.

Daisy Mae's pregnancy has been closely watched because she is part of an insemination project to help boost the population of Indian elephants, funded lavishly by Jimmy Mercury, an eccentric multi-billionaire who has subsidized the sanctuary generously. But when Daisy Mae goes into a difficult labor earlier than expected, Sam finds her life turned around suddenly. Jimmy Mercury flies in two expert large-animal vets, complete with a mobile animal surgery unit, and when Daisy Mae goes into shock, it becomes urgent that the baby she is carrying must be delivered immediately by Cesarean section before Daisy dies and her unborn baby with her.

I couldn't hear Daisy Mae breathing. The two vets were practically inside the incision. "We need help!" Dr. Grace yelled. My father reached down and in his arms was a mass of wet brown matter--the baby elephant. "It's not breathing!" Dad yelled. "Get me suction!" Dr. Tavaris ordered.

All at once the baby was moving, its trunk thrashing. There was a noise, a soft chirping, a cry to let us know the baby was here and it was alive. It was wet and gray, with a fringe of red hair around its head. "It's a girl, a beautiful baby girl," my father said.

"A girl, yes," Dr. Grace said. "But I don't know about beautiful. It's a very strange-looking little elephant."

For Samantha, when the odd little baby elephant begins to suck her fingers, it is love at first sight. She gives the baby its first bottle of elephant formula, and it seems to bond with her, preferring Sam for every feeding. Because of its unusual hair, Sam names the baby Woolly, and with her attention the baby gains weight and grows rapidly.

At first totally absorbed in the little one, Sam soon notices that their peculiar benefactor Jimmy Mercury has ordered the sanctuary surrounded by armed guards at all times and the local visitors prohibited from touring to see the elephants. Samantha begins to wonder why this particular baby elephant has to be kept a secret, secluded and shielded from the public eye at all times. And then she and her father learn the truth unexpectedly from Jimmy Mercury himself.

"Her name is Woolly," I told him. "It was the perfect name. Don't you like it?"

"I like it a lot. I just didn't think you'd figure it out without me telling you." Jimmy said.

"Figure out what?" my dad asked.

"That she's not a elephant. She's a woolly mammoth."

It is an arresting plot twist, the world's first cloned woolly mammoth constructed from DNA obtained from a frozen mammoth in Siberia, in Eric Walters' Elephant Secret (Houghton Mifflin Clarion, 2018), which changes this story of an animal-loving girl, with ordinary worries over eighth-grade dances, high school, and her father's girlfriend, into near-future science fiction. In a premise that is both futuristic and perfectly credible given the real pace of biology and the popularity of the recent Jurassic Park sequel, Walter's story will unite a wide audience with diverse preferences. And despite her awesome and fearful lineage, Woolly is a lovable baby as well as a miracle of science, a compelling character in her own right for middle readers.

Author Walters offers just enough foreshadowing to provide close readers with an inkling of what's up with this unusual baby, and there are still more exciting twists of plot ahead to keep 'tweener readers glued to the pages right to the end. With a "reveal" that will have some readers shouting, "I knew it!" and others saying, "What? Wow!", this novel is both an inventive science fiction tale and a warm human story of family relations, playing upon the parallels between humans and elephants, both big-brained mammals with complex and strong social relationships centered in family structure. With an appendix including a multimedia bibliography for readers who may want to know more about elephants, mammoths, and how DNA science is working toward the rebirth of the woolly mammoth 3500 years after its extinction, Eric Walters provides a great read and plenty for middle and young adult readers to think about.

Any Port In A Storm! The Green Umbrella by Jackie Azua Kramer

One rainy day, Elephant was taking a walk with his green umbrella.

Along came a hedgehog. "Excuse me," said Hedgehog. "I believe you have my boat."

"Your WHAT?" said Elephant.

Hedgehog explains that in an upside-down umbrella he actually sailed the deepest oceans, guided by the stars, and met many fine friends.

"I am sure you are mistaken. This is my umbrella," said Elephant.

But politely Elephant agrees that umbrellas can play several roles and offers Hedgehog a place under his to keep dry. The two walk on amiably, until they meet a cat, who also seems to have a claim on Elephant's green umbrella.

"Excuse me. I believe you have my tent!" says Cat.

Elephant graciously agrees that umbrellas lend themselves to many uses, adding that he has often used his umbrella as a pretend pirate sword, and invites Cat to join them underneath it.

In due course Elephant meets up with Bear and Rabbit, who also insist the the umbrella is their flying machine and walking cane respectively. The mannerly Elephant demurs, but invites them to seek shelter under his umbrella, and the five of them enjoy their walk, sharing their exciting exploits as they go.

The rain ends, and Elephant finds plenty of kindred souls and rainy-day fellow travelers to share snacks and shade under his big bumbershoot, in Jackie Azua Kramer's brand new The Green Umbrella(North/South Books, 2018), which ends, as all rainy day stories should, with a sunny good time for a bunch of new friends. Author Kramer takes her readers along under the big green umbrella for some flights of fancy under its shelter, very ably assisted by the exotic landscapes in appropriately watery vistas conjured up by artist Mara Sossouni. As Publishers Weekly sums it all up: "Kramer’s storytelling passages sustain their lofty tone with no off notes—no easy task."

Great for rainy-day read-alouds, along with Amy June Bates' The Big Umbrella. (Read review here.)

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).

Mega Hero: Super Jumbo by Fred Koehler

FOR LITTLE JUMBO, BEING A SUPER HERO WAS NOT AN EASY JOB.

NO ONE SEEMED TO APPRECIATE HIS SUPER STRENGTH,

HIS SPEED,

OR HIS EXPERT CRIME-FIGHTING TECHNIQUES.

Little Jumbo seems to have watched a lot of super hero cartoons. He cuts himself a chunk of the living room drapes to serve as a cape. SHAZAM! Instant caped crusader! Dad is not impressed.

LITTLE JUMBO HAD TO ACT QUICKLY TO EVADE CAPTURE.

Outside, Little Jumbo takes his heroics out on the street, vowing to right wrong and fight crime wherever he finds it. No mission is too minute for Super Jumbo! Noticing a family of snails on the curb, he charges into the crosswalk, both hands extended to stop traffic from both directions. A few fender-benders and the snarled traffic threaten to ignite a touch of road range, but our hero is off to another challenge.

A small cat is beginning to climb a tree. Little Jumbo "borrows" a ladder and leans it against the tree for the cat's convenience. The cat looks confused. But it's on to more good deeds for our hero. He spots a man with a bag of popcorn, some spread out on the ground around him, and a flock of pecking pigeons scarfing it up. Super Jumbo springs into action, his cape billowing behind him.

HE TIRELESSLY CRUSADED AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL!

Charging into the scene, Little Jumbo scatters the pigeons, picks up the popcorn, and presents it to the man with a flourish. No need for thanks.

BEING A SUPER HERO IS A THANKLESS JOB!

Feeling that he's earned a little reward, Little Jumbo spots the goodies in the display window of a bakery. But there is a little boy with a red wagon with a wheel which has just fallen off. Foregoing cupcakes, Super Jumbo pulls out his handy wrench and throws himself into the task at hand! Soon the rubber hits the road as super hero and boy climb the hill, jump into the wagon, and hurtle downhill--heading for Dad, happily fishing on a pier and totally unaware of what is about to happen next.

Being a caped crusader is a thankless job, in Fred Koehler's newest, Super Jumbo (Dial Books, 2016). Fred Koehler's super-hero wannabe means to do great things, but as illustrator Koehler shows in his clever sight gags, his do-good adventures leave comic mini-disasters in the wake of his cloak for young readers to enjoy. As Publishers Weekly puts it, "[Koehler's] thick black outlines give his characters a reassuring emotional groundedness, and he finds the comic sweet spot in each composition."

Fred Koehler's previous book was the well-reviewed How to Cheer Up Dad (see my review here).

Hail and Farewell! The Thank You Book by Mo Willems

“I HAVE A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

I AM GOING TO THANK EVERYONE WHO IS IMPORTANT TO ME.”

Piggie is in a reflective and gratitudinous mood. Always reserved, Gerald the Elephant offers his counsel on her plan.

“EVERYONE? NO WAY! YOU WILL FORGET SOMEONE.”

But the ever optimistic Piggie plows ahead, She thanks the Squirrels for their ideas. She thanks Snake for playing ball with her. She recognizes Pigeon for persevering and apologizes for his never getting to be in their books.

Pigeon gives the reader a wry look, eyebrows raised.

“THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK!” HE MUTTERS.

Piggie forges on, thanking Mouse and Bird, and Rhino, Hippo and his barky dog, Pelican, Bear, Worm!

Piggie points out that she is a veritable thanking engine!

Gerald crosses his arms and with a self-concious smile, suggests that Piggie has forgotten someone VERY important. Someone who is a major character in Piggie’s life.

Piggie agrees. The next thank you is going to be BIG, REALLY BIG, she says!

“THANK YOU, WHALE!”

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Gerald can’t believe it. Piggie goes on, ignoring Gerald’ consternation.

Dr. Cat, Ice cream Penguin, Brian Bat...! Piggie’s list of credits rolls on. The Flies! Oh, course. How can she forget the Flies who help her perfect her swill?

Then Piggie stops. She looks sheepish. OOOPSIE! Now she gets Gerald’s drift, she thinks, her cheeks growing red! Gerald is her best friend!

“THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! GERALD! YOU ARE THE BEST FRIEND A PIG COULD HAVE!”

But, no! Gerald thanks Piggie sincerely for her praise, but there is someone else, someone without whom none of their stories could exist! In his farewell book in the multiple award-winning Elephant and Piggie beginning reader series, The Thank You Book (An Elephant and Piggie Book), Mo Willems pays tribute to that sine qua non of all authors–The Reader! And a big thank you to you, Mr. Willems, for creating, not just that charming odd couple of friends, ebullient Piggie and the reserved Gerald, but for creating many an emerging reader, with millions of laughs, and introducing them to the joys of reading!