Elephant on the Loose (Little Bill)

Rating:
Summary: Delightful adaptation of Little Bill story to a book
Review: This is a cute little book featuring the preschool hero of Bill Cosby's animated series on PBS, Little Bill. Since the illustrations (which are fabulous, by the way) appear to be done in the very same style as the television cartoon, I suspect they may be stills from an actual episode. If that's the case, the writers have done a remarkable job of translating it into a kid's picture book.

Little Bill himself is a kid who lives downtown with his family and his pet hamster, Elephant. One day, while LB is distracted, Elephant wanders off in his bedroom before he could be put back in his ball. Poor LB thinks his friend has run away from home. He and his whole family search the house, in both likely and unlikely places, until Bill's older brother comes up with a plan to lure Elephant back that just might work.
The story has a nice, unhurried pacing and sequence that little ones will have fun following as the family explores the house in their search. I like that it subtly encourages children to engage their problem solving skills and search each page for where the hamster is hiding. There is also an underlying message of the importance of compassion and helping. Like the several episodes that I have watched on tv with my two kids, this story is great material for preschoolers that they have no trouble identifying with.
-A, aka merribelle