Zola's Elephant - Hardcover

De Sève, Randall

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1328886298 ISBN 13: 9781328886293

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2018

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Randall de Sève is the New York Times bestselling author of TOY BOAT, THE DUCHESS OF WHIMSY, MATHILDA AND THE ORANGE BALLOON, PEANUT AND FIFI HAVE A BALL, A FIRE TRUCK NAMED RED and ZOLA'S ELEPHANT. She spent many fun-filled years teaching young children at Saint Ann's School and Blue School in New York City, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Visit randalldeseve.com.

From School Library Journal

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, ORα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1328886298
• ISBN 13: 9781328886293
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Zagarenski Pamela