Elecopter

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