Colter Jackson

Sometimes feelings and emotions of all of the negative things around us seem overwhelming, and this is what this book addresses, while adding a touch of imagination along the way.

The illustrations draw in right away and bring the girl across in a very sympathetic manner. She's easy to relate to as she enjoys things around her or is sad when things aren't so great. Each setting comes across gently and vividly thanks to the calming style. It also allows the rhino suit to carry a hint of humor, and that is perfect to keep things from growing too heavy or serious.

The writing flows smoothly and makes for a nice read-aloud. It balances with the illustrations. The vocabulary is just right for the age group and describes the scenes in a way the reading level can understand.

Sensitive listeners/readers will have no trouble relating to the girl, while others will see moments of themselves in her as well. The ending message is one that reminds listeners of the wonderful world around them. I was a bit surprised that her temporary ability to ignore the hurt of others wasn't really addressed, but that's more of a personal perspective.

It's a good read for alone or group settings and definitely opens up to discussions as well. I received an ARC, am giving this one 3.5 stars and rounding up.… (meer)

This review originally published on The Children's Book and Media Review

Ella’s best friend is an elephant. They do everything together until Ella realizes that sometimes her friend being an elephant made things difficult. Suddenly she isn’t so sure that elephants make fine friends after all. Her elephant has all kinds of problems, like eating too much and blocking the view behind them at the movies. Ella tells the elephant that they are just too different to be best friends and sends the elephant away. Soon Ella realizes that she misses her elephant, but when her elephant has made friends with other elephants, it takes some convincing for the elephants to realize that humans can make fine friends too.

When people who are different are friends, it might be hard to find enough similarities to want to stay friends. This book shows that differences are a good thing, and those differences might even be the things that make people into the fine friends that they are. The illustrations are adorable, and the message will help people realize how important it is to have good friends that understand and love a person (or an elephant) in spite of differences that they might have.… (meer)