MR. ELEPHANTER

A day in the life of Mr. Elephanter is a slice from the bygone, when the scale and pace of life didn’t require medication. Mr. Elephanter, clearly a mild and loving soul, works at the elephantery, tending a small tribe of elephanties. He whips up some breakfast, brings his charges to the pool, town and park, tucks them in for their naps. He gets a moment to himself: “It’s enough time to catch up on small things.” In the afternoon, the elephanties get into a minor fracas, but soon they are playing and dancing; Mr. Elephanter, normally serene, looks like he’s just been goosed. Time comes for Mr. Elephanter to head home (multi-paneled endpapers bracket Mr. Elephanter’s day at the elephantery): hugs, goodbyes, see-you-tomorrows. There isn’t a page here that doesn’t melt with charm, from Mr. Elephanter, with his balloon head and small detonation of a mustache, to the tumbling, bumbling elephanties. With a slightly old-fangled atmosphere, expressive line work and balmy watercolors, Pien has created a sense of well being, where all is (mostly) right in the best of worlds. (Picture book. 4-8)