Elephants Can’t Jump: A Mini and Milo Book

K-Gr 3–Mini and Milo are best friends, and best friends know everything about one another, right? Mini certainly thinks so! So why doesn’t Milo know what’s wrong when Mini’s birthday excitement over his gift turns to disappointment? Doesn’t he know elephants can’t jump? Why does he not understand why she is upset? Mini does not know what to do with her big feelings; running and hiding do not work well for an elephant. In the end, Mini learns that talking may be the best way to communicate with her best friend. This latest in the “Mini and Milo” series presents a skillful use of bold words and graphic representations to highlight emotion and drive the action. For example, throughout the book Mini is drawn with a little flame swirling above her head that grows with her frustration and travels with her until the end, where it grows large and is depicted as a merge between a fireball and a rain cloud. This is a really nice visualization of an abstract feeling.