Wally Mammoth: The Sled Race

PreS-Gr 1–Wally Mammoth enjoys spending time with his friends Otto the bird and Wolf. On a wintery ice age day, they compete in a sled competition. Wally wants to enjoy himself and be with his friends, but Wolf insists that he wants to win, and Otto also claims the same. Wally tells them he wants them both to win. Shortly after they take off on their sleds, Otto and Wolf end up crashing into each other. Wally is now ahead, and readers may think he is going to win—but he, too, ends up in the rolling cloud of ice along with Otto and Wolf. The three friends end up at the finish line together, where they get to enjoy the trophy. This is a whimsical, silly story of anthropomorphic animal friendship. Otto brings his friends cups of warm drinks as they get ready for the race, and Wolf displays human childlike traits of enjoying hugs and cupcakes. Bright, colorful pictures depict an ice age background, and the characters speak in speech bubbles with a comic-style text font. Tabor adeptly introduces the subject of friends who can still cheer each other on, even though they may be competing.