cover image Tweak Tweak

Tweak Tweak

Eve Bunting, illus. by Sergio Ruzzier. Clarion, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-618-99851-7

In this tender story from Bunting (Will It Be a Baby Brother?), Mama Elephant advises Little Elephant to "tweak twice," by pulling on her tail, if she has any questions while they go for a walk. And at almost every turn of the page, Little Elephant does. Ruzzier's delicate lines and subdued colors match the tenor of the text, as Little Elephant asks her mother to identify various animals (a frog, a monkey, a bird, etc.), then wonders if she can also jump, climb, or sing. "Can I sing like that?" Little Elephant asks. "No, because you are not a bird.... But you can trumpet%E2%80%94like this. RO-OAR!" Ruzzier (Hey, Rabbit!) warmly conveys the small elephant's emotions and the reactions of other animals in fantasy spreads that show the elephant leaping between cliffs, swimming, and soaring through the sky. Despite the quiet plot and gentle tone, ample sound effects give the story pep, and the tail-pulling is a fun elephantine analogue to the way toddlers pull on a parent's pant leg or skirt hem with questions of their own. Ages 3%E2%80%937. (May)