Ella The Elegant Elephant

ANNOTATION

Ella is nervous about the first day of school in her new town, but wearing her grandmother's good luck hat makes her feel better--until the other students tease her and call her names.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Ella's counting the days until the first day of school ... but not because she's eager to start! On the contrary, as the littlest elephant on Elephant Island, she's terribly nervous about the other kids she'll meet. Then she receives a beautiful red hat that belonged to her grandmother -- her new lucky charm. Big mean Belinda at school teases her for it, calling her "Ella the Elegant Elephant." But Ella's brave enough to hold on to her hat, and in the end, the hat (and her heart) save the day. With warm, rich pictures and a charming main character, ELLA is sure to be a new favorite.

SYNOPSIS

Ella's counting the days until the first day of school ... but not because she's eager to start! On the contrary, as the littlest elephant on Elephant Island, she's terribly nervous about the other kids she'll meet. Then she receives a beautiful red hat that belonged to her grandmother -- her new lucky charm. Big mean Belinda at school teases her for it, calling her "Ella the Elegant Elephant." But Ella's brave enough to hold on to her hat, and in the end, the hat (and her heart) save the day.

With warm, rich pictures and a charming main character, ELLA is sure to be a new favorite.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Followers of Jean de Brunhoff and Ludwig Bemelmans may experience deja-vu upon reading the D'Amicos' debut. Ella, a Madeline-ish young elephant, possesses a WWII-era flair and lives in a faraway realm: "Somewhere in the great, wide Indian Ocean lie the Elephant Islands, hidden by a fog so thick that no human being has ever found them." Ella's rocky islands protrude from the ocean like terra-cotta turrets, topped with multicolored minarets. Inside this exotic city, bipedal elephant villagers shop at whitewashed, clay-roofed stores like a "Tuskery" and peanut emporium. On her first day at the island "ecole," Ella wears a navy-blue uniform like her peers, but chooses to sport her grandmother's "good luck hat," a floaty flame-orange number that trumps her classmates' austere caps: "The teacher asked if she wouldn't mind sitting... in the back row, so she wouldn't block the other students' view of the chalkboard." Ella's fashion statement soon attracts a bully's attention. Only at recess, when a mishap atop the city wall reveals the hat's magical, parachute-like properties, does Ella achieve acceptance. The memorable characters and setting transform a familiar tale of nonconformity; Steven D'Amico's soft, sinuous colored-pencil line and plush palette recall H.A. Rey's illustrations. The Elephant Islands would make a promising locale for future adventures, and the appealing Ella-who's simply drawn yet unique, like Charles M. Schulz's Woodstock-could easily adapt to new stories and multimedia. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Valerie O. Patterson

In a style reminiscent of Babar, the author-illustrator husband and wife team weave the winning tale of a shy elephant named Ella who is new in town and fears she will be unable to find new friends in school. When her mother tries to distract her with unpacking, Ella finds a box from her grandmother. Inside Ella finds a red hat. Her mother remembers the hat as Grandma's "good luck hat," and Ella wears it on the first day of school. A bully named Belinda, however, does not like the hat or Ella. She teases Ella her about her hat, calling her "Ella the Ella-gant." Later, though, when Belinda's antics go too far and she finds herself in trouble, it is Ella—and her big floppy hat—who comes to the rescue. When Ella returns to school the next day, all the students, even Belinda, are wearing big, floppy hats. Life at the new school has "definitely gotten better" for Ella. 2004, Arthur A Levine Books/Scholastic, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A young elephant is new to town and anxious about starting school. On her first day, she wears her grandmother's fancy "good luck hat," causing a bully named Belinda and her friends to dub her "Ella the Ella-gant." When Belinda slips on the safety wall that surrounds the schoolyard and protects the students from a very big drop, Ella attempts a rescue only to slip and fall herself. Fortunately, the lucky hat acts as a parachute, transporting Ella and Belinda to safety. The next day, the entire class, bullies included, sports fancy hats, and a message on the chalkboard reads, "We love Ella." With its charming and whimsical cartoons and simple design, this offering seems like a picture book from an earlier era. Ella is a likable character, and children will be able to relate to her emotions. Unfortunately, the story is nothing new and the text may be a bit long for some youngsters. Despite these shortcomings, parents who are nostalgic for Jean de Brunhoff's The Story of Babar (Random, 1937) will appreciate the D'Amicos's kinder, gentler elephant tale.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews