Special Delivery - Hardcover

Stead, Philip C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596439319 ISBN 13: 9781596439313

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2015

Synopsis

Sadie is on her way to deliver an elephant to her Great-Aunt Josephine, who lives completely alone and can really use the company.

She tries everything from mailing the elephant to boarding a plane, a train, and an alligator to get to her aunt's home. Along the way she meets an array of interesting characters, including an odd postal worker and a gang of bandit monkeys, who all help her get where she is going.

This eccentric and hilarious story from Philip C. Stead, the author of the Caldecott-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee and illustrator Matthew Cordell will surprise and entertain from beginning to end.

This title has Common Core connections.

About this title

About the Author:

Philip C. Stead is the author of the 2011 Caldecott Medal book A Sick Day for Amos McGee. His book A Home for Bird received four starred reviews, while his most recent book, Hello, My Name Is Ruby, has earned three starred reviews. Philip lives with his wife, illustrator Erin E. Stead, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Matthew Cordell created Trouble Gum, published by Feiwel and Friends. He has also illustrated several picture books, including Mighty Casey by James Preller and the Justin Case series by Rachel Vail. He lives outside Chicago with his lovely wife, the author Julie Halpern, their adorable daughter, and their generally well-mannered cat.

From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 2—How exactly does one deliver an elephant to a dear aunt "who lives almost completely alone and could really use the company"? Spunky young Sadie plans to send the pachyderm through the mail, but the wheelbarrow full of stamps required for the transaction makes her realize she needs another game plan. Undaunted, Sadie and the elephant travel by biplane, train, alligator and ice-cream truck to get to Great-Aunt Josephine, who as it turns out, doesn't really live almost completely alone thanks to Sadie. Watercolor and ink illustrations have a scratchy cartoonish quality reminiscent of James Stevenson that infuses the story with energy. From the "uh, oh" speech bubble hovering over the sputtering plane as Sadie realizes she's running out of gas to a train full of monkey bandits chowing down on bananas and canned beans, these two-page spreads are a comic delight, resulting in an engaging blend of perfectly paced adventure and visual humor. Add in a liberal use of exaggerated sound effects, and the outcome is a read-aloud winner sure to deliver laughs to young readers.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

About this edition

• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1596439319
• ISBN 13: 9781596439313
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Cordell Matthew