Plum
"Come to the Elephant Delicatessen./ Sample the delicate elephant  treats." Lyrical poems about epicurean elephants, puzzled peas, and  "freak cat-fleas" pepper Tripoli-born poet Tony Mitton's whimsical  poetry collection, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, best known for her  artwork in the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter series. Mitton  anthropomorphizes objects from plums ("Don't be so glum, plum") to  bubbles ("I am only/ a bubble,/ the ghost of a ball./ If I'm caught/  then I'm naught,/ I am nothing at all"). He also enjoys telling stories  with his poetry, including the over-the-top, nine-page-long "Mrs.  Bhattacharya's Chapati Zap Machine" about a complex chapati-making  mechanism with a mind of its own, and "The Histon Boulder" about Moses  Carter's stone in England. Many of the poems have a distinctly British  feel, such as "Green Man Lane" and "Mrs. Rummage's Muddle-Up Shop" where  readers will find the terms "loo-rolls," "button tin," and "plastic  mac," all defined in the author's notes in the back. GrandPré's  inventive interpretations swoop and swirl with bold, somewhat  geometrical, larger-than-life imagery of serpents, giants, and scary  tree roots to dizzying effect. (Ages 5 to 9)--Karin Snelson