My Elephant
PreSchool-Grade 1—A child's grandparents are too busy to play with him, so he creates a friend that only he can see: a large, fun-loving, pencil-gray elephant. When the smiling grandfather asks who "messed up" his flowers, the child blames his new friend. The same goes for the missing muffins, the mess in the hall, and the puddles in the bathroom. Though the child apologizes, he seems to feel sorrier about blaming his imaginary elephant than upsetting Grandma and Grandpa. However, all is forgiven and the next morning Grandpa suggests playing ball. The illustrations appear to have been created with pencil, pen/ink, and watercolor and then cut and pasted onto clean white backgrounds. This is a slight story about a boy and his imaginary friend, and the bright mixed-media pictures are the best part.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.