Can I play, too?
2010
- play
- snakes
- elephants
- nyt:picture_books=2010-07-11
- fiction
- pigs
- friendship
- juvenile fiction
- swine
- star wars films
The story
Elephant and Piggie learn to play catch with their new friend Snake.
What it’s like
A bright, minimalist picture book with flat, cheerful colour on plain white backgrounds, thick outlines, and a handful of simple shapes doing all the work. The pages are sparse, with speech bubbles and large, expressive faces that make the emotional beats legible at a glance. Its voice is quick and funny in short exchanges of dialogue, the sort that reads aloud in a few minutes and invites a second go. The feel is light, sunny and gently silly, with a sweetness about friendship that comes from small, easy generosity rather than any real stakes. It suits a lazy afternoon, a bedtime read with a child, or a quick comfort read for an adult who wants something warm and uncomplicated. Pacing is brisk and page-turning, and the emotional arc is a simple one: two good-natured friends make room for a newcomer. Nothing frightening or violent happens; the only tension is the mild, funny kind of a friend feeling left out. It is made for young children and early readers, and for adults who enjoy a clever, playful picture book with no pretension.
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