Monkey and Elephant Go Gadding

K-Gr 2—As Monkey explains to Elephant, "Gadding is walking along, looking around, finding something fun, stopping awhile, then moving on." And off they go, thrilled by the potential for surprise and adventure. Depicted in rich hues of green for Elephant and purple for Monkey, the two friends have a wide range of expressions despite the suitable simplicity of the cartoon illustrations. Their romp includes a visit to Elephant's old Uncle Phump, a hatmaker who gives each of his guests a gift. Then they unexpectedly bump into Monkey's Cousin MeeMee and her children. The group enjoys swimming and a picnic, and Monkey also models gracious forgiveness when MeeMee's babies eat all the berries off her new straw hat. These pals are reminiscent of other endearing friendship pairs such as Frog and Toad and Elephant and Piggie. This sweet, three-chapter offering begs for even more adventures to satisfy newly independent readers.—Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT