(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ronni Solbert. An elephant loves to flatten small cars. After he destroys all the small cars at a car dealership, the owner reopens a "big car" lot--and those cars smash the elephant, into a tree, a house, and finally a lake. The chastised (and unscathed) elephant changes his destructive ways. The childlike text and simple art are effective and enjoyable in this reissue.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ronni Solbert. This fiftieth-anniversary edition of Merrill's classic looking-backward satire has been updated from the year 1976 to 2026. While pushcarts and pickle barrels (not to mention the idea of developing photographs) may be foreign concepts to contemporary kids, disagreeing grownups still squabble over every little thing, and the arch wit and hilarious story should still resonate with readers today.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: August, 1964; November, 2014