Fly along with Elecopter as she soars above the savannah, patrolling the skies with her fire-hose nose at the ready. The other animals are safe with Elecopter on the scene―Elecopter is a hero for all! Preschoolers are in for a treat in this chant-along companion to Monkey Truck . PreS-K–The author of Monkey Truck (Holt, 2011) takes his characters to the skies with the highly versatile and helpful Elecopter, an elephant blessed with the main rotor, tail rotor, and landing skids of a helicopter. Flying high above the savannah, she assists friends in trouble. Digitally created, brightly colored cartoon images of African animals illustrate the predictable adventure and rescue plot. When she sees dark fire clouds, Elecopter rushes to save animals and extinguish a raging conflagration with her “fire-hose nose.” Various perspectives highlight her efforts as she whirs from animal to animal; as the flames grow higher, the font looms larger, and one illustration encourages children to turn the book for a better view of a giraffe's long-necked rescue. “Working for peanuts,” this helicopter hero with large expressive eyes gives students a reason to cheer.–Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TXα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Ahh! The cuteness! It blinds! Well, that’s what you get when you take a rotund, big-eyed baby elephant, give her landing gear and helicopter blades, and send her into the savanna to save animals. No, it doesn’t make sense, and you wouldn’t want it to. Whether rescuing birds from lightning storms or pulling lions from the edges of steep cliffs, Elecopter is the only half-animal, half-vehicle hero you need: Flying into danger, she’s first on the scene / to airlift a rhino / from a rocky ravine. Her trunk serves as both trumpet alarm and water hose to a deadly fire, and that ladder coiled around her tail works perfectly to snag the cheetah, those baboons, and even—in a way-cool page you have to turn sideways to appreciate—a giraffe. Slack’s ­Easter ­egg–­colored digital illustrations are filled with sharp angles and highly emotive characters, and are especially capable of handling action scenes with utmost clarity. Kids will instinctively get it and probably love it. And what does Elecopter work for? What else? Peanuts. Preschool-Grade 1. --Daniel Kraus “The author of Monkey Truck (Holt, 2011) takes his characters to the skies with the highly versatile and helpful Elecopter, an elephant blessed with the main rotor, tail rotor, and landing skids of a helicopter.” ― School Library Journal “Ahh! The cuteness! It blinds! Well, that's what you get when you take a rotund, big-eyed baby elephant, give her landing gear and helicopter blades, and send her into the savanna to save animals. Kids will instinctively get it and probably love it.” ― Booklist “Giggle-inducing humor and nail-biting action...” ― Publishers Weekly “My three-year-old loves Michael Slack's new picture book Monkey Truck . . . . The artwork is great, colorful and elaborated with lots of details that are fun to talk about during storytime. All told, it's a darned fun storytime treat.” ― Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.com on Monkey Truck “The bright, blocky and, above all, goofy digitally painted illustrations will grab attention, and Monkey Truck's hooting mug (and tooting bottom) will keep the giggles flowing. Hope for more from this outrageous imagination.” ― Kirkus Reviews on Monkey Truck “Slack's choppy, rhyming text is propelled by sound effects and exclamations that enhance the book's read-aloud appeal. . . . A slight yet spirited romp.” ― Publishers Weekly on Monkey Truck “Slack's digitally rendered artwork is abundant with enjoyable texture and detail . . . and the jungle citizens are remarkably expressive.” ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books on Monkey Truck Michael Slack is the author of Monkey Truck . He is an artist and character designer whose work has been featured in various forms including books, comics, television, and games. He lives in Lafayette, California. Used Book in Good Condition