Free to be elephant me

Originally published in the U.K., this picture book by the creators of Giraffes Can't Dance follows young Num-Num the elephant, who doesn't have a talent to impress Elephant Mighty, the pachyderms' throned ruler. Without a skill, Num-Num can't earn a special Elephant Name, but after setting off to a different water hole, he meets a variety of animals, eventually resulting in a triumphant realization: " 'I'll tell you my Elephant Name,' Num-Num said,/ 'I want to be/ ELEPHANT/ ME.' " Andreae relays the story in bouncy quatrains: "And each time an elephant managed to prove/ A talent or skill to the king,/ The monarch would give them an ELEPHANT NAME.../ An honor they all longed to win." Parker-Rees contributes affable, dynamic art in a light-colored palette. While those familiar with the genre won't find anything particularly innovative, this is a clear, uncomplicated morale booster. Ages 4--8. (June)

What will Num-Num's Elephant Name be? Elephant tradition demands that every young elephant perform for Elephant Mighty to show they are best at something. Elephant Mighty, depicted in the illustrations as a tusked, enthroned bull with crown and ermine-trimmed robe, will then reward them with an Elephant Name. When Nina pulls a tree from the ground with her trunk, Elephant Mighty says, "Your trunk is so splendid and long! / I never imagined that tree would come loose. / I'm calling you ELEPHANT STRONG!" But Num-Num doesn't have a talent. Though he tries a few tricks when forced to, the elephants laugh at him, and Elephant Mighty dubs him Elephant Nothing. Num-Num moves far away to his own watering hole, where, because he is such a sweet elephant, he makes a lot of new friends of many different species. When they hear his story, they're shocked. The group treks back to tell Elephant Mighty how wrong he was. Num-Num tells a skeptical ruler that he wants to be Elephant Me. "I may not be noisy or tough, / But the hardest thing sometimes is just to be YOU, / And to know being YOU is ENOUGH." Elephant Mighty has a surprising response, and everything ends with a dance. Andreae's signature perky, rhymed verse (here set in abcb quatrains) pairs nicely with Parker-Rees' sunny cartoon illustrations. A bit too straightforward with its lesson, but this British import has both a heart and a spirited lead. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.