From School Library Journal
PreS—Ella is an enterprising pig. When an aunt's earring falls down the drain, she retrieves it with a high-heeled shoe and a wad of bubblegum. She comes to the rescue with a spaghetti strainer and curtain rod when her brother's frog escapes into a pool. Then, the porker receives a wonderful umbrella as a birthday present that she "love-love-
loved." She takes it with her everywhere she goes, causing problems instead of solving them. Cushman's rounded acrylic paintings depict the chaos of an unfettered umbrella until the object is banned from Ella's dance recital. Like Kevin Henkes's
Owen (HarperCollins, 1993), Ella knows she
needs her umbrella to give her courage and, like Owen, the resourceful pig comes up with a perfect solution. A reassuring tale for the youngest of listeners, who are often tied to precious objects of their own.—
Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Ella the pig is a problem solver. She rescues her aunt's earring from the drain with a shoe and chewing gum, and she pulls a frog from the pool with a spaghetti strainer. When she gets a beautiful new umbrella for her birthday, she can't resist opening it everywhere, and suddenly, she is causing problems rather than solving them. With a "whoosh . . . click," Ella opens her umbrella and knocks over lamps, her baby brother, her parents' tea and cake. When she disrupts her fellow ballerinas, Ella's dance teacher bans umbrellas at the upcoming recital. Ella worries; without her comfort object, will she still be able to dance? Then Ella's problem solving kicks in, and she invents a creative solution that earns applause from the audience. Weeks' short text includes lots of repetitive phrases and sound effects that will easily encourage participation. Cushman adds slapstick humor with double-page scenes of determined Ella, an Everychild who takes blunders in stride and finds creative solutions.
Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
