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PICTURE BOOKS
Blackwood, Freya

The Boy and the Elephant

40 pp. | Random/Random House Studio | August, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9780593707661 $19.99 | Library ISBN 9780593707678 $22.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593707685 $10.99
(1) K-3 In this wordless picture book, we follow a young boy who seems ignored at home and lonely at school as he visits the vacant lot next to his house. This glorious forgotten place is rich in trees; one in particular takes the shape of an elephant and is obviously an old friend to the child. Disaster looms as a for-sale sign appears on the lot and the trees are marked for destruction. In the middle of the night, the boy visits the lot and must have worked out a plan with the elephant-tree -- because the next thing we see are the trees on the move, not only an elephant but a giant leafy giraffe, rhino, and camel heading down the darkened streets to replant themselves in the schoolyard. This story is a gem of child agency and power. Blackwood's gorgeous pencil and oil illustrations are infused with color, narrative, movement, and emotion. In crowd scenes, each small character seems to contain a story. When we see our hero leaning on the edge of a claw-foot bathtub, we can almost taste his despair just in the placement of his arm. This setting and plot also celebrate the value of wild areas that survive in a crowded urban landscape, meeting places for imagination and joy.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

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