Toni Buzzeo and David Small take the idea of a person resembling his pet to hilarious extremes.
Elliot, a "very proper young man" dressed in a black tux and bow tie, reads to a menagerie of stuffed animals. His jovial red-headed father, sporting a green checked suit, pops up from behind a newspaper to say, "Family Fun Day at the aquarium. Shall we go?" The boy thinly disguises his look of disgust. A clever design element sets off Elliot's ponderings in a classic comic thought balloon ("Kids, masses of noisy kids"), while his actual spoken words appear in a dialogue bubble, "Of course. Thank you for inviting me."
David Small's (Stitches) artwork rewards close scrutiny. While Elliot's father reads a magazine on a bench, his head jutting out from his round torso, he resembles a creature more than a human. Elliot's shadow on the aquarium walls hints at what he'll find farther down the hall. With his father's approval, Elliot takes home a penguin and attempts to make the fellow, whom he names Magellan, feel at home. A standout scene pictures Elliot and Magellan ice skating on a makeshift rink, while his stuffed menagerie, sporting wool hats, act as spectators.
Buzzeo (Lighthouse Christmas) portrays Elliot's father as a caring, absent-minded professor type who gives his son a lot of leeway. Elliot proves that he has earned it. The ending twist will send youngsters back to the beginning looking for clues, and they'll be satisfied again and again.—Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness