by Randall de Sève (Author) Pamela Zagarenski (Illustrator)
Illustrated by two-time Caldecott-honor winning artist Pamela Zagarenski, this tender, witty friendship story of imagination gone wild, by New York Times bestselling author Randall de Sève, shows how assumptions often cause us to misjudge--and miss out.
But with a little courage, new opportunities and new friendships can be made.
When Zola moves into the neighborhood, her new next-door neighbor is too shy to go over and introduce herself. Plus, Zola already has a friend to play with--an elephant!
What we imagine is not always true, as the little girl discovers. Luckily, she also discovers that being brave can lead to new friendships--and even richer imaginary worlds--in this heartwarming book about friendship, moving, and the power of imagination by New York Times best-selling author Randall de Sève and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Pamela Zagarenski.
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In this tale by de Sève (A Fire Truck Named Red), a girl named Zola moves in next door to the narrator, a girl about Zola's age. From the sounds and smells that make their way to her, the narrator imagines a charmed existence for Zola. A huge moving box, she decides, must hold Zola's pet elephant. The smell of toast must mean that Zola is giving her elephant a snack ("Elephants get very hungry"), and the ruckus she hears is Zola and her elephant playing hide-and-seek ("There's always thumping and yelling/ when you play hide-and-seek/ with your elephant"). Jewel-box artwork by Caldecott Honor artist Zagarenski recalls the exquisite detail of Persian miniatures. Lush, gold-splashed paintings show the improbable hijinks of girl and elephant, while moody blue spreads show what Zola is really doing: she's eating toast all by herself, it turns out, and holding her ears against the racket made by a man with a hammer. The real elephant in the room is the fear of making new friends--a fear the narrator finally conquers. Readers may find themselves wishing not for a friend, but for an elephant. Ages 4-7. Author's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.PreS-Gr 2--A young girl has a new neighbor named Zola. Both girls' mothers think that they will be fast friends. But our narrator worries, what if Zola already has a best friend? Her imagination takes over when she sees a big box being moved into Zola's house. She's convinced it must contain an elephant, and why would Zola need her, if she already has an elephant with whom to play hide-and-seek, build a clubhouse, and to take bubble baths? The author and illustrator tap into the feelings of insecurities that young children face with the uncertainty of new beginnings. As the young girl frets over all of the reasons that Zola will not need her, Zagarenski captures these imaginings with her trademark illustrations full of crowns, stars, and swirls that sprinkle the page. The colorful, digital and mixed-media illustrations are offset when viewers see Zola's reality full of hard lines, gray palette, and empty space to show the loneliness and sadness that she is actually feeling moving into a new place. Finally, the narrator decides that all the things she imagines Zola having and experiencing are things that she also loves; she braves her feelings and goes to meet Zola. Zagarenski's textured and detailed illustrations will capture children's imaginations, and will have them enthralled as they follow the many smaller animal familiars through the pages. VERDICT A must-purchase.--Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
"Vivid pages abound with the gem-like layered mixed-media paintings in the signature style of this two-time Caldecott Honor Book illustrator. Whimsical and surreal details, both real and make-believe, celebrate the joy of pretending with a new friend."—Booklist, STARRED review
"De Sève's well-paced telling is charmingly abetted by Zagarenski's layered multimedia paintings. The artist's Klee-esque colors and signature symbols—stars, crowns, houses, bees and more—will provide fertile ground for young readers' own imaginings...A lovely, nuanced collaboration."—Kirkus, STARRED review
"The text's dive into social paralysis gives this depth beyond the usual new-friends story."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books