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Strictly No Elephants
Lisa Mantchev
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Description for Strictly No Elephants
hardcover. Lyrical, stunning, and sweet, this picture book is about a boy and his tiny pet elephant who are excluded from pet club Illustrator(s): Yoo, Taeeun. Num Pages: 32 pages, illustrations. BIC Classification: YBCS. Category: (J) Children / Juvenile. Dimension: 264 x 239 x 14. Weight in Grams: 428.
When the local Pet Club won't admit a boy's tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution-one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book. Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephantsare allowed. The Pet Club doesn't understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend. Imaginative and lyrical, this sweet ... Read morestory captures the magic of friendship and the joy of having a pet. Show Less
Product Details
Publisher
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Place of Publication
New York, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 2 to 4 working days
About Lisa Mantchev
Lisa Mantchev is the author of many picture books, including Strictly No Elephants, which garnered awards and rave reviews and is published in fourteen countries. The New York Times called it a sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale. Her latest, Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime!, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews: Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime! ... Read morewill captivate readers with their irresistible fun. Lisa lives on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state with her family. Visit her website at LisaMantchev.com. Taeeun Yoo has twice received the prestigious New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award. She has illustrated many books, including Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev, which has been published in twelve countries. The New York Times called it a sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale. Other books include So Many Days and Only a Witch Can Fly, both by Alison McGhee, and Round by Joyce Sidman, which received four starred reviews. Taeeun was also the recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Society of Illustrators' Founders Award. She lives in South Korea with her family. Show Less
Reviews for Strictly No Elephants
A sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale by Lisa Mantchev. . . . How nice . . . to imagine such a peacable kingdom in our midst, especially as depicted in Taeeun Yoo's intimate, warmly rounded and colored mixed-media illustrations
a richly textured meld of drawing and linocut art finished off in the Photoshop blender.
The New York Times Book Review
... Read moreJanuary 17, 2016
The trouble with having a tiny elephant for a pet is that you never quite fit in, says a little boy with a tiny pet elephant. The Pet Club won't let him in, and an angry sign- Strictly No Elephants -explains why. Forlorn, the boy and little elephant stumble on, the boy's warm-toned shirt popping against the background of people in dark blues, blacks, and teal. They find another outcast, a little girl with a skunk, and they decide to start their own club. Soon, owners with other unusual pets join them: a girl with a giraffe, a boy with a hedgehog, even a kid with a tiny narwhal in a glass bowl! Eagle-eyed little ones will notice new friends before they make their way to the pet parade. Though the story is slight, the clear message of inclusion is a good one, and the cheerful, lightly mottled block-print illustrations, with bright outlines and in a rich palette, exude lively motion among the children and their pets. Heartening, particularly for kids who often feel left out.
Booklist
October 1, 2015
It's Pet Club Day, and the sign on the door at #17 clearly states, Strictly NO Elephants. Current members treasure their birds, fish, cats, and dogs, but a young boy taking a walk with his tiny elephant, sharing an umbrella in a cool fall rain, sees no welcome for his friend, so he simply gives his usual support. That's what friends do-lift each other over the cracks...brave the scary things for you. The boy and his elephant meet a girl with a skunk, who were also excluded from the Pet Club meeting, and decide to start a club of their own, one in which all are welcome. Friends never leave anyone behind. Illustrations emphasize the warmth of this message with Photoshop, block prints, and pencil in color spreads alternated with smaller vignettes highlighting the expressions of the children and their pets. VERDICT With a gentle message of inclusion and helping others, this title reaches beyond a mere friendship story. A solid general purchase for libraries and classrooms.
School Library Journal
Having a tiny elephant for a pet sounds idyllic, but a boy discovers that the local Pet Club doesn't allow them; a stern girl points at a Strictly No Elephants sign. Heading home in the rain, the boy and his elephant spot a girl with her skunk. They don't want us to play with them either, she says. Joined by other owners of unexpected pets-giraffes, armadillos, even a small narwhal in a bowl-they make their own club with its own sign: All Are Welcome. In her first picture book, Mantchev (Ticker) examines true friendship, sprinkling observations about the behavior of boy and elephant throughout ( He doesn't like the cracks in the sidewalk much. I always go back and help him over ) and punctuating them with the refrain, Because that's what friends do. Yoo's (Hands Say Love) linoleum block prints of brick buildings and quiet sidewalks have the softness and warmth of a favorite blanket. It's a message book about exclusion with an oh-so-gentle lead-in for discussion.
Publishers Weekly
July 20, 2015
After a little boy and his tiny elephant are barred from the Pet Club, they befriend other children with unusual pets. The first-person narrative has a quiet, contemplative feel: The trouble with having a tiny elephant for a pet is that you never quite fit in. / No one else has an elephant. His pet is shy of sidewalk cracks: I always go back and help him over. That's what friends do: lift each other over the cracks. Embodying dejection after the two turn from that large, titular sign on the door, a double-page spread-a Photoshop-augmented linoleum block print-depicts a dark teal cityscape slashed with raindrops and bobbing with black umbrellas. The Caucasian boy, his pet (in matching red scarves), and a little African-American girl in cornrows and a red-and-orange striped dress are the bright spots in this poignant tableau. Turns out that this girl-a pet skunk curled on her lap-has been turned away too. He doesn't stink, she says. No, he doesn't, concurs the boy and then suggests, What if we start our own club? Observant children will spot a porcupine, penguin, and giraffe peering from brownstone windows along the way; they and their children join others with equally exotic pets. Yoo's concluding scenes depict a treehouse occupation (its restrictive message changed to ALL ARE WELCOME ) and multiethnic, multispecies harmony. Sweet and affirming.
Kirkus
August 15, 2015
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