Zola's Elephant by Randall de Sève, Pamela Zagarenski
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on October 9th 2018
ISBN: 1328886298
Pages: 40
Goodreads

A new girl moves in next door to our narrator – another little girl.Thus the begins the back and forth conversation between our narrator and the reader. Our little girl tells us that her neighbor has an elephant, who eats toast, takes baths , plays hide and seek and other fun things. that is the reason the two girls will surely never meet and be friends. As each reason they should not meet is imagined, Zagarenski in her signature style shows the reader on the facing page what is really happening. Eventually, they meet and of course, become friends. The text is sparse and direct, as someone making an excuse for not meeting a potential friend might say, the truth is in the illustrations. This is a picture book where the illustrations support the text. Zagarenski creates thru color and atmosphere, beautiful, fanciful imaginative illustrations that the reader can pour over. Her signature images of bees, foxes, crowns and wheels are included in her message of friendship.It is a beautiful book for its story and its art.

grades pre-k- 3

submitted by Kathy George, Gray Public Library