Elecopter

July 8, 2013
Slack reprises the formula he used in 2011’s Monkey Truck to equally raucous effect, creating a hybrid elephant/helicopter who patrols the savannah. Giggle-inducing humor and nail-biting action are also part of the equation: “Whatever her mission, she always succeeds,” writes Slack as Elecopter prevents a bushy-maned lion from walking off a cliff, then gives him a dapper new ’do with her propeller blades. Elecopter’s bright coloring, long eyelashes, and propensity for flight may call to mind Dumbo, yet this flying elephant proves that her bravery is second to none. In the story’s tensest sequence, Elecopter rescues a group of animals from wildfire: “Flying into danger, she’s first on the scene/ to airlift a rhino from a rocky ravine.” She also escorts to safety a cheetah, a passel of baboons, and a giraffe, and, best of all, she works for peanuts. Rendered in a palette of neon blues, yellows, and magentas, Slack’s manic digital collages are not unlike a vintage Golden Book on LSD—in other words, just right for this oddball conceit. Ages 2–5. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words.

June 15, 2013
Who keeps the savanna and its animals safe? Elecopter! "She scans the savannah / from high above. // Patrolling the sky, / it's a labor of love." A chubby blue elephant with landing skids for feet and propellers on top and tail, Elecopter saves baby birds from electrical storms. She rescues a lion (blinded by an out-of-control mane) from walking off a cliff (and then gives him a mane cut with his rotors). She even helps giraffes with loose teeth. When she sees a billowing cloud of smoke and a fire in the distance, she snags her ladder and her rope and speeds off to help. "She scoops up cheetah / alone and marooned. // Then lowers a ladder / to the stranded baboons." She saves those in danger and then puts out the fire with her hose nose. "Working for peanuts, / she's quite the contraption. / A helicopter elephant / always ready for action." Slack's follow-up to Monkey Truck (2011) moves from the jungle to the savanna for more animal/machine mashup mayhem. The digitally painted illustrations are bright and zippy. Elecopter's the only character who's part machine, and her helpfulness will inspire. Less of a laugh riot than Slack's previous solo effort, this will nonetheless please children by offering animals, vehicles and heroics all in one. "Go, Elecopter! Go!" (Picture book. 2-5)

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September 1, 2013

PreS-K-The author of Monkey Truck (Holt, 2011) takes his characters to the skies with the highly versatile and helpful Elecopter, an elephant blessed with the main rotor, tail rotor, and landing skids of a helicopter. Flying high above the savannah, she assists friends in trouble. Digitally created, brightly colored cartoon images of African animals illustrate the predictable adventure and rescue plot. When she sees dark fire clouds, Elecopter rushes to save animals and extinguish a raging conflagration with her "fire-hose nose." Various perspectives highlight her efforts as she whirs from animal to animal; as the flames grow higher, the font looms larger, and one illustration encourages children to turn the book for a better view of a giraffe's long-necked rescue. "Working for peanuts," this helicopter hero with large expressive eyes gives students a reason to cheer.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
Preschool-G Ahh! The cuteness! It blinds! Well, that's what you get when you take a rotund, big-eyed baby elephant, give her landing gear and helicopter blades, and send her into the savanna to save animals. No, it doesn't make sense, and you wouldn't want it to. Whether rescuing birds from lightning storms or pulling lions from the edges of steep cliffs, Elecopter is the only half-animal, half-vehicle hero you need: Flying into danger, she's first on the scene / to airlift a rhino / from a rocky ravine. Her trunk serves as both trumpet alarm and water hose to a deadly fire, and that ladder coiled around her tail works perfectly to snag the cheetah, those baboons, and evenin a way-cool page you have to turn sideways to appreciatea giraffe. Slack's Easter eggcolored digital illustrations are filled with sharp angles and highly emotive characters, and are especially capable of handling action scenes with utmost clarity. Kids will instinctively get it and probably love it. And what does Elecopter work for? What else? Peanuts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
When a blue elephant with helicopter rotors and landing gear spies smoke, she flies in to rescue stranded animals, then slurps up water and douses the blaze with her "fire-hose nose." Told in rollicking rhymes that don't always scan or work precisely, the heroic Elecopter's rescue-mission adventures are better served by the candy-colored, action-packed digital illustrations.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)