cover image Mr. Elephanter

Mr. Elephanter

Lark Pien, Candlewick, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4409-3

Mr. Elephanter goes to work at the Elephantery every morning—it appears to be an orphanage, but looks more like a grand hotel—and spends the day with three diminutive elephanties. ("Fwee!" they snort, cavorting happily around the mustachioed man.) He makes them banana pancakes; he takes them to the zoo; they dance together. At day's end he hugs them all goodnight and heads home. There's only the gentlest hint of conflict; after naptime the three elephanties biff each other up a bit and a vase is broken. Three small rear ends are perched on time-out stools as Mr. Elephanter tidies up the pieces. Pien's (Long Tail Kitty) tints are as faint as wisps of mist; her lines say no more than is necessary to convey action and emotion. Despite the unusual circumstances and questions that might arise—who are the elephanties, where are their parents, and how did Mr. Elephanter fall into elephanting?—this vision of quiet love and steady, dependable attention is just the thing for children to fall asleep to. Ages 5–up. (Sept.)