Thursday 20 June 2019

"Humperdink our Elephant Friend" by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander (Words and Pictures)

What would you do with the elephant in the room?

One set of nursery school kids find out in the adorable "Humperdink, our Elephant Friend" by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander.

Playtime at the nursery is always awesome, but one little girl discovers that she loves to play games that the other kids don't.

She has a daring streak and loves rough and tumble games but when Humperdink the baby elephant joins the children’s playgroup, he seems friendly enough, but it soon becomes clear that he’s not very good at the usual games the children play, like dressing up or hide-and-seek.

When he breaks the children’s favourite slide, everyone feels sad.

But with a little patience and understanding the children soon discover that Humperdink is good at some things – especially if they use their imaginations – leading to a riotously fun conclusion.

There are lots of neat little touches to this story, acceptance and learning that sometimes playing games others prefer rather than pushing your own choices can reap rewards, and maybe gain you a new friend or two (elephant shaped or otherwise!)

Sum this book up in a sentence: Sean Taylor makes storytelling look easy in this rather delightful little tale, perfectly complimented by Claire Alexander's characterful and gorgeous illustrations.

"Humperdink Our Elephant Friend" by Sean Taylor and Claire Alexander is out now, published by Words and Pictures (kindly supplied for review).