ZOLA'S ELEPHANT by Randall deSeve.  Illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2018. ISBN 978-132888629-3 hc. $17.99.   Gr. K-2   E PIC

"There's a new girl next door."  The narrator knows her name is Zola and that a very large box was moved into her house - probably containing an elephant.  Zola is likely to be feeding her elephant because the smell of toast is coming from her house.  There's also the sounds of running water and hammering - which could mean that Zola and her elephant are taking a bubble bath or building a clubhouse.  All these imaginings make the narrator feel left out of the fun, until gathering the courage to knock on Zola's door and become her new friend.  Readers will enjoy trying to guess what's in the box - probably NOT an elephant.  Zagarenski's illustrations are unmatched in their depth of emotion, whimsical quality, and colorful expression.  Her art won Caldecott Honors for SLEEP LIKE A TIGER by Mary Logue (2012) and RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman (2009).
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI