You can't let an elephant drive a racing car by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman

Another in this highly infectious series of tales about size and appropriateness of vehicle use will have kids ask to read the book again and again as the preposterous scenarios are revealed. Kids will adore the idea of an elephant driving a racing car and all that it implies: speed, compactness, competition, clothing etc. And to turn up to the start of the race he dreams of winning with parts already falling off the vehicle will cause much mirth. Over the page, an alligator dreams of being a figure skater, and a kangaroo wants to play cricket, an octopus attempts to play ping pong much to the chagrin of her opponent, while a hippo wants to try out the pole vault. Each scene is accompanied by a verse of rhyming lines, telling the readers what is going on and encouraging them to predict the rhyming words, while laughing at the punch lines of each stanza. And the illustrations adroitly capture the moments when the expected and sometimes unexpected happens. The stork cannot keep his feet on the ground in the three legged race, the wombat finds weight lifting does not suit her abilities, the warthog reverts to his natural prowess of digging while playing in the football match and the puma baulks after he climbs the diving tower to plunge into the pool which is a very long way down.

Each double page presents a scene that is quite out of the ordinary, and will make readers think about just what is appropriate for that animal, while pondering on their involvement in a sport. The animals might not win any medals for their efforts, but they have participated in a sport not usually in their orbit. Making an effort, joining in and participating form the background of this highly amusing tale of animals being where they are certainly not expected to be and doing things out of the ordinary.

Themes: Humour, Elephants, Animals, Sports, Participation, Medals.

Fran Knight