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Robert, Nadine

The Shadow Elephant

48 pp. | Enchanted Lion | October, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-59270-312-8 $18.95
(2) K-3 Translated by Sarah Klinger. Illustrated by Valerio Vidali. The eponymous character in this French-Canadian import seems to be suffering from a bout of depression. Animal friends try to cheer him up, to no avail. First a monkey attempts a joke, then ostriches do a silly dance, and finally a crocodile serves up a bowl of delicious acacia leaves. Colorful textured art keeps the focus on the characters, with minimal backgrounds and a flat aesthetic that lets the animals' forms fill the pages. Then, a tiny white mouse appears midway through the story, and instead of trying to distract the elephant from his feelings, she asks, "Could I rest here next to you?" Leery, the elephant asks, "You're not here to tell me a story?" No, she's not, but after a while, the mouse begins to reveal her own tale of woe, and it turns out that this is just what the elephant needed to give himself permission to cry and vent his own feelings. It doesn't come across as a case of misery loves company so much as it does a moment of empathy for someone else's problems that allows for sympathy for one's own. As the pair walks off together "feeling much lighter," the scenes remain awash in a calm blueness, which suggests less of a happily-ever-after resolution than it does peace in their togetherness.
Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

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