The Shadow Elephant

This resonant narrative offers a blueprint for approaching friends who are going through a rough patch. Though the animals of the savanna are unsure whether the elephant is “gloomy,” “trying to hide his sadness,” or just “preferred the shadows,” they are determined to cheer him up. But their best efforts—the monkey’s funniest joke, the ostrich sisters’ “Swing-Can-Can” dance, and the crocodile’s proffered snack of acacia leaves—were to no avail. The elephant, portrayed for most of the book on the recto side in stippled swaths of light blue and indigo, “remained in the shadows.” When a mouse comes by, however, instead of attempting to coax a reaction from the elephant, she merely sits with him, shares her own story, and cries with him—which proves to be just what he needs to get back on his feet. Simple, stylistic art provides the background for this elegantly empathic tale. Ages 6–8. (Oct.)