Raised in Spain and based in London, illustrator Allepuz makes her debut as author with the story of five fruit-loving elephants competing to retrieve the "most delicious-looking exotic fruit" from the branches of a very tall tree. "Mine!" shouts each elephant as his or her scheme falls flat, sometimes quite literally-Elephant Three attempts to scale the tree, but doesn't "get very far at all" before he lands on the jungle floor with a giant "oof." All the while, readers see five tiny mice working together, scaling the tree and eventually succeeding where the elephants fall short. "This fruit is ours," the mice cheer, ushering in a lesson about cooperation and sharing. Saturated colors and bold crayonlike strokes and shapes amplify the physical comedy built into the story. "Weren't there five of us?" one elephant asks toward the end; Elephant Two can be seen sailing into the distance on her leaf parasail, still shouting "Mine!" The jokes keep Allepuz's tale from becoming too didactic even as its message remains quite clear. Ages 3-5. Agent: Paul Moreton, Bell Lomax Moreton. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Five spherical elephants lounge in the jungle, munching on their favorite fruits. One goes for kiwis, another for pineapples, while the others are partial to coconuts, bananas, or mangoes. But one day, a tall magenta tree appears with enticing pear-shaped fruit high in its branches, and all the elephants want some. That fruit is mine! declares Elephant One, targeting it with a strong blast of air from her trunk. Unfortunately, it doesn't budge, permitting tiny Elephant Two to swoop in (MINE!) on a banana-leaf glider and then straight past the tree in question. Meanwhile, as the elephants try one by one to get their trunks on the fruit, five mice diligently scale the tree by working together. Fruit procured, they scamper over the pachyderm pile at the tree's base with a victorious cry of This fruit is OURS! The novel concept of ours ripples through the group, whose ensuing attempt at teamwork does, indeed, bear fruit. Colorful and comical, this easily digestible lesson in teamwork and sharing will make kids cackle.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2018 Booklist

Five little mice show five elephants the power of teamwork in this debut picture book. Five elephants, living deep in the heart of the jungle, love fruit. One day, they see "the MOST delicious-looking exotic fruit" on a very tall tree, and each of them wants to eat it. While they try, one by one, to reach the fruit in ingenious but varying ways ("MINE!"), a group of five tiny mice, barely noticeable at first, work together to reach the golden yellow fruit and soon carry it away ("OURS!"). Illustrations are cartoonlike and expressive, with different shades of vibrant green for the jungle flora and the elephants and mice in different shades of brown and gray. Using the collaborative example set by the mice, the elephants now use their previous, individual ideas to work as a team, bringing down those delicious fruits and enjoying them together (OURS!"), except for Elephant Two, who is still gliding through the air on a leaf parachute! The elephants' part of the story is conveyed in conventionally laid out sans-serif print, while the mice's part is set in a significantly smaller, faux typescript face that works dynamically within the illustrations, bunching up behind the mice as they climb and swinging out as they approach the hanging fruit. A solid title that emphasizes the importance of teamwork and cooperation to get to your desired fruit. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1-Teachers and librarians will appreciate this story because it emphasizes the importance of teamwork while making readers smile. The story shows how five fruit-loving elephants are bested in their attempts to obtain a delicious fruit by five mice. Each elephant acts independently (huffing, parachuting, and climbing respectively), triumphantly declaring "MINE!" when attempting (in vain) to obtain the treat. Meanwhile, on the other side of the tall tree trunk, the five mice are encouraging each other, working together, and declaring "OURS!" when they are successful. The four remaining elephants realize they've been bested by a superior idea and are soon able to enjoy the tasty snack once they decide to work together. This story will make a fun and easy read-aloud, as Allepuz has repeated certain key words (with exclamation marks) and has used a distinctly different font for the comments of the mice. Further, the illustrations amusingly convey the expressions and actions of the elephants while portraying a stylized jungle in which the unusual and unexpected can happen. VERDICT An engaging and humorous read aloud that conveys the importance of teamwork.-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, CA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.