Elliot

by Julie Pearson, Manon Gauthier (Illustrator), Erin Woods (Translator)

Overview

Elliot's parents love him very much, but all is not well. When he cries, they do not understand why. When he yells, they do not know what to do. When he misbehaves, they do not know how to react. One day a social worker named Thomas comes to visit, and Elliot's world turns upside-down. Manon Gauthier's soft collage illustrations feature approachable rabbit characters, while Julie Pearson's soothing, repetitive text guides Elliot gently through the foster child system. The new families that care for the little boy are kind, but everything is strange and new, and the sudden changes make him want to cry and yell AND misbehave. Then, when it becomes clear that Elliot's parents will never be able to take him back, Thomas sets out to find Elliot one last home - a forever, forever home with a family that will love and care for him no matter what.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781927485859
Publisher:	Pajama Press Inc.
Publication date:	04/04/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julie Pearson conceived of Elliot, her first picture book, during her first months as an adoptive mother. She has worked as an educator in child and youth centers for over twelve years, and is passionate about children and their development. Julie lives near Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Manon Gauthier is a graphic artist who made the leap to picture book illustration in 2006. After her first book was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Children’s Literature, she dedicated herself entirely to illustration, and to giving presentations and art workshops in schools across Quebec. A flexible artist, Manon works in many media, including gouache, pencils, and paper collage. She lives in Montreal.

Read an Excerpt

This is the story of Elliot, a playful little boy who was full of life.

His mother and father loved him very much.

BUT…

When Elliot cried, his mother and his father did not understand why.

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2016
Elliot—a young rabbit with a tendency to cry, yell, and misbehave—moves between several homes in this story of adoption, foster care, and finding a “forever family.” Debut author Pearson never blames Elliot for his behavior (it’s unclear if he’s meant to have a developmental disorder), instead focusing on his parents’ inability to understand their son. After Elliot’s parents seek help, he is sent to live temporarily with an unfamiliar but loving family. Elliot later returns to his parents, but this proves short-lived; following a stint with a second foster family, Elliot is told that his “parents could never take care of him, because they did not know how.” A muted palette of gray, blue, and manila reflects the somber, uncertain mood, and Gauthier’s (Magic Little Words) naïf-styled rabbits resemble cutout paper dolls dropped into the scenes, suggestive of the way Elliot is shuttled around. Elliot eventually finds a family that understands him, and while the book’s somewhat oblique language may require supplemental explanation from adult readers, Pearson’s refusal to sugarcoat his journey should resonate with children in similar situations. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Not all children are born into families where their needs can be met….Whatever the reason, there are times when children must be placed in foster care to ensure their growth and well-being….Honest and heartfelt, this book about foster parenting and adoption is a needed addition to any collection. Told in clear prose, with cut paper collage art done in quiet tones, it reflects the experiences of many children.

Sal's Fiction Addiction

Fostering is a difficult topic, but Pearson addresses it in a gentle, age-appropriate manner free of blame. Her direct lines keep the focus solidly on Elliot's emotional reactions, and repetition reinforces a reassuring undercurrent of familiarity in each new home. Gauthier's collage illustrations, in muted tones and childlike shapes, effectively dampen the realism of the potentially scary scenarios in the story and keep the mood somber but hopeful. Though it might not be representative of every fostering experience, this sensitive story nevertheless could be a comfort to children in the foster system.

Booklist

A simple yet powerful tale of hope, love, and belonging, Elliot tugs on the heartstrings and leaves readers with a heightened appreciation of the courage and resiliency of foster children and their families. Highly Recommended.

CM Magazine

[Elliot] provides a gentle, caring way of introducing the concepts of finding a forever home which is loving and nurturing and inclusive for children when their own family cannot cope… This is an excellent teaching tool for classroom discussion about families and relationships. It is also a wonderful book to provide comfort, hope and assistance in adapting to a foster family situation for children in that process. Highly recommended.

Resource Links

[T]his is a powerful book about a difficult subject that is an important read-aloud to those kids who are going through similar circumstances as well as any child who knows someone who is being fostered.

Raising Mom

There are very few picture books that I want to clutch a little tighter and hold onto in my heart a little longer. Elliot is one that has touched me so.

CanLit for LittleCanadians

This is a lovely book to share with a child trying to cope with the intricacies of being a foster child. The book stresses that Elliot is always loved and that everyone wants to do what is best for him. This is a must-have for public libraries.

Youth Services Book Review

The book tackles a complex issue in an approachable and kid-friendly way with adorable bunny characters and soft collage illustrations. It’s a must-read.

Today's Parent

This book is so very important... Honest and vital, this picture book fills a huge gap in children’s books with its depiction of the foster system for small children. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Waking Brain Cells

03/01/2016
PreS-Gr 3—Despite this book's serious subject matter—a child who needs foster care—its tone is calm and soothing. Pearson creates a rhythm by repeating the three major ways that a young rabbit named Elliot is misunderstood by a series of adult caregivers, beginning with his parents. They love him but don't know why he cries, and they don't know how to respond when he yells or misbehaves. Fortunately, his parents ask for help, and Thomas, clearly a social worker, places Elliot with a foster family, while his parents are taught "how to take better care of him." This new family understands him and meets his needs. Still, Elliot enjoys his parents' visits but is nervous when he returns to live with them. When the old problems recur, Thomas places Elliot with another foster family. The child adjusts to his new environment and is happy to be understood. His parents visit, and he wants to live with them again. Eventually, he returns to his birth parents, but the problems persist, and this time Thomas promises Elliot to find a "forever family." This popular phrase conveys the eternal commitment that adoptive parents and siblings share with an adopted child, and Elliot's ultimate placement with a loving "forever family" turns out to be the best resolution. Gauthier's gouache and pencil drawings are simple but poignantly depict the range of emotions Elliot experiences. The muted colors also help reinforce the low-key, reassuring message. Pearson handles this delicate subject with an understandable, sensitive, and sympathetic text. VERDICT Recommended for libraries seeking books to help young children understand that birth parents sometimes do not how to care for them and that other caregivers must enter their lives.—Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA

School Library Journal

2016-02-02
A heartfelt picture book attempts to address the stories of foster children. The cast of characters is made up of anthropomorphic rabbits rendered in flat, mixed-media collage, and the protagonist, Elliot, is "a playful little boy who was full of life." He's introduced in a warm embrace with his parents, who "loved him very much." Over two page turns, readers see Elliot alone, crying, then yelling, then misbehaving, and the text tells them that his parents don't understand, don't know what to do, and don't know how to react. They seek help, and "Thomas came to visit." He's presumably a social worker, introduced in an alarming juxtaposition of a benign illustration of everyone seated at a table with text that reads, "He said he would take Elliot to stay with another family until his parents learned how to take better care of him." Elliot's life changes drastically. He moves back and forth between (good) foster homes and his parents, finally ending up in an adoptive family. Both text and art are careful to depict his conflicted, difficult feelings, but they take far less care in depictions of the characters and their circumstances. The story is simply too restrained in depicting the crises that precipitate Elliot's placement into foster care, and they therefore risk minimizing the tragedy—and even spiking anxiety—as they attempt to offer hope. A needed but problematic offering. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

About Elliot

2017 OLA Best Bets selection

2016 School Library Journal blogger Elizabeth Bird's "2016 Books With A Message" selection

2016 Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens selection

2016 Resource Links "The Year's Best" selection

"Fostering is a difficult topic, but Pearson addresses it in a gentle, age-appropriate manner free of blame. Her direct lines keep the focus solidly on Elliot's emotional reactions, and repetition reinforces a reassuring undercurrent of familiarity in each new home. Gauthier's collage illustrations, in muted tones and childlike shapes, effectively dampen the realism of the potentially scary scenarios in the story and keep the mood somber but hopeful. Though it might not be representative of every fostering experience, this sensitive story nevertheless could be a comfort to children in the foster system."—Booklist

"Gauthier's...drawings are simple but poignantly depict the range of emotions Elliot experiences. The muted colors also help reinforce the low-key, reassuring message. Pearson handles this delicate subject with an understandable, sensitive, and sympathetic text. Recommended for libraries seeking books to help young children understand that birth parents sometimes do not know how to care for them and that other caregivers must enter their lives."—School Library Journal

"[Elliot] provides a gentle, caring way of introducing the concepts of finding a forever home which is loving and nurturing and inclusive for children when their own family cannot cope...This is an excellent teaching tool for classroom discussion about families and relationships. It is also a wonderful book to provide comfort, hope and assistance in adapting to a foster family situation for children in that process. Highly recommended."—Resource Links

"Pearson's refusal to sugarcoat [Elliot’s] journey should resonate with children in similar situations."—Publishers Weekly

"The book tackles a complex issue in an approachable and kid-friendly way with adorable bunny characters and soft collage illustrations. It's a must-read."—Today's Parent

"This is a lovely book to share with a child trying to cope with the intricacies of being a foster child. The book stresses that Elliot is always loved and that everyone wants to do what is best for him. This is a must-have for public libraries."—Youth Services Book Review

"A simple yet powerful tale of hope, love, and belonging, Elliot tugs on the heartstrings and leaves readers with a heightened appreciation of the courage and resiliency of foster children and their families. Highly Recommended."—CM Magazine

"This book is so very important...Honest and vital, this picture book fills a huge gap in children's books with its depiction of the foster system for small children. Appropriate for ages 3-5."—Waking Brain Cells

"There are very few picture books that I want to clutch a little tighter and hold onto in my heart a little longer. Elliot is one that has touched me so."—CanLit for LittleCanadians

"Not all children are born into families where their needs can be met....Whatever the reason, there are times when children must be placed in foster care to ensure their growth and well-being....Honest and heartfelt, this book about foster parenting and adoption is a needed addition to any collection. Told in clear prose, with cut paper collage art done in quiet tones, it reflects the experiences of many children."—Sal's Fiction Addiction

"[T]his is a powerful book about a difficult subject that is an important read-aloud to those kids who are going through similar circumstances as well as any child who knows someone who is being fostered."—Raising Mom

“This book tackles a tough subject in a gentle and sensitive way, using a cast of disarming and charming rabbits. I haven't seen many books that address children in the foster care system, but I believe this is a truly powerful book and can resonate with a group that yearns to be understood.”—Little Bookworm Club

From the Publisher