Little Elephant Thunderfoot
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Cover Story
The cover of this issue is a design incorporating illustrations from four books illustrated by the subject of our Authorgraph, Ian Beck. The top left illustration is from Five Little Ducks (Orchard), the top right from Poppy and Pip's Picnic (to be published Autumn '97 by HarperCollins), the bottom left from The Owl and the Pussy-cat (Transworld) and the bottom right from Home Before Dark (to be published September '97 by Scholastic). Ian Beck's Picture Book (Hippo) is reviewed in this issue.
Beck talks to BfK's interviewer, Julia Eccleshare, also in this issue. His distinctive decorative style with its sensitive pen line and cross hatching has a nostalgic but sometimes also a surreal quality - he describes it as 'a look that is floating, strong and wistful all at the same time'.
Thanks to Orchard, HarperCollins, Transworld and Scholastic for their help in producing this composite cover.
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Little Elephant Thunderfoot
John Butler
A very attractive picture book about the life of a baby elephant with beautiful illustrations. The text has the fine line to tread between accuracy and anthropomorphism which semi-documentary stories of animals for children often struggle with (do elephants really give each other names?) but it succeeds as well as most, giving an on the whole straightforward picture of the life of an elephant calf. There is the almost obligatory death-by-wicked-human incident when the lead elephant is killed but this is fairly low key. There is a happy ending and the address of an elephant protection charity is given at the end of the book.