When the local Pet Club won’t admit a boy’s tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution—one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book.
Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.
Imaginative and lyrical, this sweet story captures the magic of friendship and the joy of having a pet.
About the Author
Lisa Mantchev’s first picture book, Strictly No Elephants, garnered awards and rave reviews and is published in nine countries. The New York Times called it “a sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale.” She is also the author of Sister Day!, which Kirkus Reviews called “sweet, upbeat, and refreshing,” and Jinx and the Doom Fight Crime. Lisa studied drama at the University of California, Irvine, and now lives on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state with her family. When not scribbling, she can be found on the beach, up a tree, making jam, or repairing things with her trusty glue gun.
Industry Reviews
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 scarves), 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.
