Ellie in Concert

April 1, 2017
PreS-Gr 1-In a follow-up to Ellie, Pixar illustrator Wu delivers another tale about the lovable elephant and her adorable zoo animal friends. In this installment, Lucy the giraffe suffers from insomnia because of the cacophony of nocturnal noises. Ellie solves her friend's problem by organizing the beasts into an orchestra and singing Lucy a lullaby. While the premise is not especially original, the musical spin adds a unique element, particularly in Ellie's artistic representation of the parts of the orchestra rendered in different colors, a nod to her talent as a painter in the original book. Where the text is unembellished, the watercolor illustrations are lush and emotive. Wu's animals are doe-eyed, with humanlike expressions, and their zoo habitat has depth and a rich palette. The musical notation for -Betty's Tune,- named for the bird who inspired Ellie's composition, is depicted on the end pages. VERDICT A sweet animal story for medium and large picture book collections and fans of the first title.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2017
First met in Ellie (2015), the eponymous, doe-eyed elephant becomes a champion of the arts as she adds music to her painting skills. Poor Lucy the giraffe cannot sleep with the cacophony of noise in the zoo. "All Ellie wanted to do was help her friend." Ellie shows readers true acts of compassion and problem-solving. The problem is clear: Lucy needs sleep. Ellie calmly stands by her friend's side as each sleep aid is explored without success. When Ellie hears Betty Bluebird sing a lullaby to her babies, she has a new idea. She enlists the aid of Gerard, the wise gorilla, and organizes the animals into musical sections, just like an orchestra. She helps each animal find his or her tune. With patience and practice, Ellie changes the nightly noise in the zoo into a beautiful song that helps Lucy finally go to sleep. Wu's expressive watercolor illustrations are imbued with kindness and comfort even through the inharmonious screaming and squinting of the noisy animals. The secondary characters have distinct personalities that clearly show what caring friends look like. Betty's "theme" is reproduced in the backmatter; Ellie's full score is printed on the inside of the jacket. Readers will find a simple plot and compassionate characters balanced with glowing pictures for a satisfying story. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.