Elephant by Petr Horacek
Walker Books, 2009. ISBN
9781406311006.
(Ages 3-6) What is a lonely boy to do when his grandparents are too
busy to
play with him? His solution is to find an elephant for a best friend.
The
elephant is perfect for throwing a football with in the garden and for
splashing in the bathtub. And he's also perfect to be used as a
scapegoat when
something goes wrong and the garden bed is trampled and there are
puddles all
over the floor.
This is a classic story line with a child using an imaginary friend to
explain
away any disasters that happen when rough games are being played. It
works very
well as a read aloud story, particularly as it has a satisfactory
conclusion
which children will find amusing.
Beautiful illustrations complement the text. The end papers show tiny
pictures
of the elephant from all angles on a vivid orange background. Horacek
has distinguished
the imaginary elephant by drawing it with dark grey pencil scribbles.
The pictures
of the little boy, his grandparents and the house and garden are in
full bright
colours. This is a useful technique and would help a very young child
to work
out what is real and what is imaginary.
Pat Pledger