Most children invent an imaginary playmate at some point, and for the little boy in this book, it’s an elephant. But is it imaginary? Just like Bernard’s monster in Not Now Bernard, the parents (or in this case, grandparents) can’t see the child’s unusual companion, and the child gets blamed for all the mess and destruction caused. But this un-named boy enjoys many an adventure with his elephant friend, and eventually the grandparents join in the game.
Softly drawn with grey scribbly skin and a docile friendly face, the elephant is surprisingly inanimate and lacks the personality of his anarchic anthropomorphic forbears - The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Wild Things or even Bernard’s monster. The repetitious expressions on the human faces also make the characters feel slightly cold and removed, though the illustrations are by no means unpleasant. A simple if rather dispassionate tale, the themes of make believe and making a mess will surely appeal.
Softly drawn with grey scribbly skin and a docile friendly face, the elephant is surprisingly inanimate and lacks the personality of his anarchic anthropomorphic forbears - The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Wild Things or even Bernard’s monster. The repetitious expressions on the human faces also make the characters feel slightly cold and removed, though the illustrations are by no means unpleasant. A simple if rather dispassionate tale, the themes of make believe and making a mess will surely appeal.
1 comment:
Sounds good! We've enjoyed quite a few Petr Horacek books, most recently silly suzy goose and this little cat (which my littlest particularly enjoyed).
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