Ellie in Concert

PreS-Gr 1—In a follow-up to Ellie, Pixar illustrator Wu delivers another tale about the lovable elephant and her adorable zoo animal friends. In this installment, Lucy the giraffe suffers from insomnia because of the cacophony of nocturnal noises. Ellie solves her friend's problem by organizing the beasts into an orchestra and singing Lucy a lullaby. While the premise is not especially original, the musical spin adds a unique element, particularly in Ellie's artistic representation of the parts of the orchestra rendered in different colors, a nod to her talent as a painter in the original book. Where the text is unembellished, the watercolor illustrations are lush and emotive. Wu's animals are doe-eyed, with humanlike expressions, and their zoo habitat has depth and a rich palette. The musical notation for "Betty's Tune," named for the bird who inspired Ellie's composition, is depicted on the end pages.