Have You Seen Elephant?

An assured and exciting debut picture book from a top emerging talent, about a small boy and his elephant playing an absurd game of hide and seek. Elephant wants to play hide and seek. You can play too. But you'll need to try your best-he's very good! Have You Seen Elephant is perfect for sharing with children, who will love finding the elephant (and being better at it than the boy in the book!). Watch out for the dog and the tortoise, too...

Winner of PANZ Book Design Awards: Best Children's Book 2016
Short-listed for Waterstones Children's Book Prize: Illustrated Books 2016

“"A small child plays hide-and-seek with a surprisingly elusive (except to viewers) elephant. 'OK. You hide,' says the child. Says the elephant: 'I must warn you though. I'm VERY good.' The dark-skinned, springy-haired, and increasingly confused-looking child fruitlessly searches house and yard for the pachydermwho positively dominates each scene whether 'hiding' beneath curtains, under a coverlet on top of the bed, or behind a skinny tree. Applying thin color to rough-surfaced paper with splashy, Chris Raschka-style freedom, Barrow supplies the questing child with parents (a biracial couple, to judge from family portraits on the wall), legibly hand-lettered dialogue, and a small dog who has no trouble at all seeing the elephant. A tap on the shoulder brings the game to an end at last, whereupon a tortoise's invitation to a round of tag presents an easier challenge. Or does it? 'I must warn you though....' Beyond the sheer absurdity, children will delight in details, such as the wide-screen TV the elephant holds in one scene, the child's dad so focused on the soccer game on the screen that he asks, 'What elephant?' and the sly alterations to the family portraits on the rear endpapers. Younger audiences will be screaming 'There it is!' from the get-go."starred, Kirkus Reviews”

"Beyond the sheer absurdity, children will delight in details" -- Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews (US)

"A bonefide pitch perfect laugh out loud picture book for all ages. Debut author David Barrow has created a brilliant celebration of the limitless nature of a child’s imagination wrapped up in a deliciously sophisticated and accessible package."

"This amusingly absurd story paired with the warm and wonderful illustrations will have kids coming back again and again."

David Barrow is a graduate of the Cambridge School of Art where he completed a Masters in Children’s Book Illustration and received the top prize, the Sebastian Walker award for most promising children’s illustrator. He lives in England with his wife and son.

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