Review
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After a little boy and his tiny elephant are barred
from the Pet Club, they befriend other children with unusual
pets.
The first-person narrative has a quiet, contemplative feel: “The
trouble with having a tiny elephant for a pet is that you never
quite fit in. / No one else has an elephant.” His pet is shy of
sidewalk cracks: “I always go back and help him over. That’s what
friends do: lift each other over the cracks.” Embodying dejection
after the two turn from that large, titular sign on the door, a
double-page spread—a Photoshop-augmented linoleum block
print—depicts a dark teal cityscape slashed with raindrops and
bobbing with black umbrellas. The Caucasian boy, his pet (in
matching red ves), and a little African-American girl in
cornrows and a red-and-orange striped dress are the bright spots
in this poignant tableau. Turns out that this girl—a pet skunk
curled on her lap—has been turned away too. “He doesn’t stink,”
she says. “No, he doesn’t,” concurs the boy and then suggests,
“What if we start our own club?” Observant children will spot a
porcupine, penguin, and giraffe peering from brownstone windows
along the way; they and their children join others with equally
exotic pets. Yoo’s concluding scenes depict a treehouse
occupation (its restrictive message changed to “ALL ARE WELCOME”)
and multiethnic, multispecies harmony.
Sweet and affirming. (Kirkus August 15, 2015)
Having a tiny elephant for a pet sounds idyllic, but a boy
discovers that the local Pet Club doesn’t allow them; a stern
girl points at a “Strictly No Elephants” sign. Heading home in
the rain, the boy and his elephant spot a girl with her skunk.
“They don’t want us to play with them either,” she says. Joined
by other owners of unexpected pets—giraffes, armadillos, even a
small narwhal in a —they make their own club with its own
sign: “All Are Welcome.” In her first picture book, Mantchev
(Ticker) examines true friendship, sprinkling observations about
the behavior of boy and elephant throughout (“He doesn’t like the
cracks in the sidewalk much. I always go back and help him over”)
and punctuating them with the refrain, “Because that’s what
friends do.” Yoo’s (Hands Say Love) linoleum block prints of
brick buildings and quiet sidewalks have the softness and warmth
of a favorite blanket. It’s a message book about exclusion with
an oh-so-gentle lead-in for discussion. (Publishers Weekly July
20, 2015)
It’s Pet Club Day, and the sign on the door at #17 clearly
states, “Strictly NO Elephants.” Current members treasure their
birds, fish, cats, and dogs, but a young boy taking a walk with
his tiny elephant, sharing an umbrella in a cool fall rain, sees
no welcome for his friend, so he simply gives his usual support.
“That’s what friends do—lift each other over the cracks…brave the
y things for you.” The boy and his elephant meet a girl with
a skunk, who were also excluded from the Pet Club meeting, and
decide to start a club of their own, one in which all are
welcome. Friends “never leave anyone behind.” Illustrations
emphasize the warmth of this message with Photoshop, block
prints, and pencil in color spreads alternated with smaller
vignettes highlighting the expressions of the children and their
pets. VERDICT With a gentle message of inclusion and helping
others, this title reaches beyond a mere friendship story. A
solid general purchase for libraries and classrooms. (School
Library Journal)
“The trouble with having a tiny elephant for a pet is that you
never quite fit in,” says a little boy with a tiny pet elephant.
The Pet Club won’t let him in, and an angry sign—“Strictly No
Elephants”—explains why. Forlorn, the boy and little elephant
stumble on, the boy’s warm-toned shirt popping against the
background of people in dark blues, blacks, and teal. They find
another outcast, a little girl with a skunk, and they decide to
start their own club. Soon, owners with other unusual pets join
them: a girl with a giraffe, a boy with a hedgehog, even a kid
with a tiny narwhal in a glass ! Eagle-eyed little ones will
notice new friends before they make their way to the pet parade.
Though the story is slight, the clear message of inclusion is a
good one, and the cheerful, lightly mottled block-print
illustrations, with bright outlines and in a rich palette, exude
lively motion among the children and their pets. Heartening,
particularly for kids who often feel left out. (Booklist October
1, 2015)
A sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale by Lisa Mantchev. . . . How
nice . . . to imagine such a peacable kingdom in our midst,
especially as depicted in Taeeun Yoo's , warmly rounded
and colored mixed-media illustrations--a richly textured meld of
drawing and linocut art finished off in the Photoshop blender.
(The New York Times Book Review January 17, 2016)
About the Author
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Lisa Mantchev is the author of many picture books,
including Strictly No Elephants, which garnered awards and rave
reviews and is published in fourteen countries. The New York
Times called it “a sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale.” Her
latest, Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime!, received a starred review
from Kirkus Reviews: “Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime! will
captivate readers with their irresistible fun.” Lisa lives on the
Olympic Peninsula of Washington state with her family. Visit her
website at LisaMantchev.com.
Taeeun Yoo has twice received the prestigious New York Times Best
Illustrated Children’s Book Award. She has illustrated many
books, including Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev, which
has been published in twelve countries. The New York Times called
it a “sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale.” Other books include So
Many Days and Only a Witch Can Fly, both by Alison McGhee, and
Round by Joyce Sidman, which received four starred reviews.
Taeeun was also the recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Award and
the Society of Illustrators’ Founders Award. She lives in South
Korea with her family.
