Elliot's Emergency

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University in Kingston.

Two stuffed toys, a moose named Elliot and a monkey named Socks, plan to
embark on an adventure. However, before the adventure begins, Elliot
snags his leg on a protruding nail and tears open its seam. Elliot is
most concerned about losing his stuffing but Socks has a solution—a
safety pin. But a hole remains at each end of the tear after the pin is
fastened. Socks scrambles up the stairs and enlists the assistance of
the other stuffed toys. Each toy has a solution to Elliot’s problem,
but none is able to resolve it until Beaverton notices the thread
dangling from Elliot’s leg.

Without being didactic, the gentle narrative of Elliot’s Emergency
imparts the importance of helping others in time of needThe pattern of
the story engages readers in predicting how each stuffed toy will solve
Elliot’s problem.

The emotive facial expressions of Beck’s stuffed toys clearly
complement and extend the text. Texture is cleverly created in the
colorful illustrations through shading and detail. Recommended.