Synopsis
When the wind blows through Alligator Acres, in a far corner of Crawdad County, it is sure to carry a story with it. This is one of those stories — the tale of Eloise, the gentle zebra. Eloise was just a bit too big to join in the jamming down at the juke joint, the one where Corndog Willie and the Slackjaws were playing up a storm. She's fortunate to have such good friends as gracious Cecil, the 'gator, and Woo, the considerate armadillo, who set matters right.
Musician and philosopher Doug Anderson and artist Sara Anderson have collaborated in a lyrical ballad of community which celebrates friendship and loyalty, and echoes the energy, rhythm, and twang of a bayou Zydeco band. A strong sense of place is conveyed in the bold composition and spry language which meld with the deep greens and blues of the bayou.
Publishers Weekly
A brother-sister team turns to the bayou for a jazzy jambalaya of colorful cut-paper art and rhyming text. Debut author Doug Anderson sets the tale in fictional, Spanish moss-laden Crawdad County. Postcard-size spot art introduces the main characters: Woo, the empathetic armadillo; Cecil, the "gracious gator"; and Eloise, an out-of-place zebra. As the three eagerly strike out for the Crawdad County dance (Eloise's "heart set on romance"), the illustrations enlarge to eye-pleasing spreads, black borders thinly framing the vivid scenes and backing the orange typeface. Sara Anderson's (Pumpkin Shivaree) jaunty illustrations evoke a magical nighttime backdrop of purple skies, black water, blue-green moss and golden stars. Her angular cut-paper arrangements achieve an informal balance of color and shape, while a myriad of small details add humor (e.g., a turtle dances atop the upright piano). The rhyme often wobbles-when Eloise turns out to be too big to fit through the dance hall door and sadly shies away from the zydeco scene ("Up the hill she walked away, wondering what to do/ While down below the dance went on, her heart was feeling blue")-but the art is poignant: Woo glimpses Eloise through a window as she stands alone, wearing her three strands of Mardi Gras beads and feathered party hat. As the friends resourcefully remedy the situation, the illustrations carry the story to a rousing finale. Ages 4-7. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.