TEN LITTLE ELVI

Adult Elvis Presley aficionados more than pint-size readers may most appreciate this bluesy countdown. In the authors' first picture book (as well as the American debut for Australian illustrator Gorissen), they depict 10 Elvis impersonators in outfits from his films, with each spread playing on the lyrics of his hits. After one flies to Vegas and another goes to Graceland, their numbers continue to decrease. "Six little Elvi learning how to drive…/ One bought a Caddy and then there were five." The diminutive driver's cowboy hat flies from his head as he barrels down Route 66 in a fin-tailed pink Cadillac. Other popular scenery includes The Heartbreak Hotel and Memphis, and a hound dog on the loose reduces the group's number to three (sporting blue suede shoes). The one remaining lonely Elvis reunites with his brethren—where else?—at a rockin' party hosted at the jailhouse. The authors' text reveals their willing patronage to the King, and Gorissen's acrylics sparkle with all the glitter of a Vegas performance. Ages 2-up. (Oct.)