March 9, 2015
Wu, an animator who has worked on many Pixar hits, makes his literary debut with a story ever-so-gently ripped from the headlines: the artwork-producing
elephant. The eponymous heroine is desperate to help her compatriots save their zoo from closing, but she’s too small to make a dent in the needed cleanup and repair work. On a whim, Ellie picks up a paintbrush with her trunk and within a few pages, she is a not just a sought-after portraitist, but also a performance artist: “Soon, people from around the world came to see Ellie, the remarkable painting elephant.” Wu is a literal writer, but his visual storytelling, rendered in sweet, throwback-style watercolors, shows creativity and poise. Ellie, who looks like she’s a branch of Dumbo’s family tree, leads a cast of equally endearing animal characters, and every vignette is expertly framed for a chuckle, an “Awww,” or both: when Ellie paints a portrait of Lucy the giraffe, her subject’s head extends beyond the top edge of the page. Ages 3–5. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management.
March 1, 2015
When Walt the zookeeper announces the zoo will be closing for good, all the animals pitch in to save it. But shy Ellie the elephant cannot see how she can help. How can she help save the zoo?Gerard the gorilla is clever and always has good ideas. Lucy the giraffe can clean up all the places no one else can reach. Even the penguins and monkeys are sprucing up the gray and ramshackle zoo. Everyone but Ellie has a job to do. With big, round eyes, sweet Ellie is clearly sad that she cannot help save her home. With a "brighten the corner where you are" attitude, Ellie picks up a paintbrush and gives it a try. Like Dorothy arriving in Oz, the world changes when the paint hits the walls. In his first picture book, Pixar animator Wu creates watercolor illustrations that are reminiscent of classics like Harry the Dirty Dog and Curious George. Round Gerard, tall Lucy, and impossibly thin Walt are distinct personalities beyond their physical attributes. There is a timelessness that draws attention to these gentle figures. The storyline, however, meanders like the little elephant as the book proceeds. Is the kernel of this book about contributing even if you are little? Or saving the zoo and becoming famous?Luckily for Ellie and readers alike, it is the pictures that matter. (Picture book. 3-7)
May 1, 2015
PreS-Gr 2-Ellie, a reticent young elephant with endearingly huge eyes, resides in a run-down zoo. When Walt the zookeeper announces that the zoo must close for good, the animals decide that sprucing up the place might save it. Everyone pitches in according to their talents-Gerard the gorilla clears away rocks, Lucy the giraffe trims trees-but Ellie feels useless and left out. Serendipitously, she happens to find some paint and a brush left behind by Walt, and discovers that she's a splendid artist. Soon, she decorates the entire zoo and gains renown as the painting elephant, attracting crowds and saving her home. Wu's dynamic watercolor illustrations enliven the story, their retro/classic feel possessing a distinctive animation quality that is unsurprising, given Wu's background as a Pixar animator. The effective use of color emphasizes Ellie's transformation, subdued greens and grays becoming a veritable chromatic explosion, "before" and "after" looks of the zoo cleverly highlighted in the endpapers. VERDICT A sweet, if slightly bland, inspirational story suggesting that one can come across a hidden talent unexpectedly.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2015
Zookeeper Walt announces that the zoo will be closing for good. The animals pool their talents to save it--except for elephant Ellie, who doesn't know how to help. Then she finds a strange object--a paintbrush--and subsequently her calling, which draws much-needed crowds to the zoo. Wu's Pixar-animator roots serve him well in his enjoyable, endearingly illustrated picture-book debut.
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)