DADDY, COULD I HAVE AN ELEPHANT?
by Jake Wolf & illustrated by Marylin Hafner
From the collaborators behind And Then What? (1993, not reviewed), the I-wanna-pet story of a different color. Tony starts the morning by demanding from his father a pet elephant, or better yet two elephants. Once they conclude that elephants might be too big, Tony asks for a pony, or a python, or a flock of woolly sheep. As they wash and make breakfast, Tony goes over the options, envisioning more and more outrageous scenarios (elephants playing bridge, a baby whale swimming in the living room), while his father skeptically points out potential difficulties. The matter-of-fact discussion is made doubly funny by Tony's penchant for pairs: not one gorilla, but two; not just a dolphin, but a whale, too. In a splendidly fulfilling ending, they settle on a puppy. Wolf has perfect pitch: The dialogue between Tony and his father has the punctuated rhythm of a two-man comedy routine. In the watercolor, colored pencil, and pen illustrations, these two look exactly the way they sound: two disheveled, absent-minded free spirits, who are also incessant readers, talented bridge players, and lovers of Chinese food. A riot. (Picture book. 4+)