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"Elephant Soup" by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

Schubert, Ingrid and Dieter.ELEPHANT SOUP.Honesdale, Pa.: Lemniscaat, 2009.

A celebration of the absurd, this will appeal to children who can chuckle over the impossible and respectinventiveness.The nameless mouse hero feels “down in the dumps,” but knows what to do when that happens.He gathers his friends (contacting them in a clever way) and then the horde of helpful friends make the preparations.It is indeed “simple,” in words, at least.A problem arises:despite the size of the pot, the lid won’t fit.It is a disaster that because of this there is no soup to enjoy.But the resourceful mice make good use of the pot, nonetheless.Who wouldn’t enjoy sliding down an elephant’s snout into one’s own private pool?The elephant is helpful, the mice delighted, and hunger is forgotten. Wonderfully clever!

Big, double page spreads, bled to the edge, allow plenty of room for these cheerfully coloreddepictions of collaboration.

John Warren Stewig, Carthage College

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