CM Magazine: Elliot Fry's Goodbye.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VIII Number 11 . . . . February 1, 2002

cover Elliot Fry's Good-bye.
Larry Dane Brimmer. Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes.
Honesdale, Penn: Boyds Mill Press, (Distributed in Canada by Stewart House), 1994.
32 pp., pbk., $19.99.
ISBN 1-56397-715-X.
Subject Headings:
Runaways-Fiction.
Family Life-Fiction.
Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7.

Review by Catherine Hoyt.

*** /4

exerpt:

"I'm leaving," Elliot said later, thump-thump- thumping the suitcase down the stairs.

"I'm leaving NOW," Elliot said as he opened the front door.

"I'M LEAVING RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND!" Elliot shouted, tugging his wagon up the walk.

"Have a good trip, dear," his mom said.

"Good-bye," he said weakly and wondered what went wrong.

Larry Dane Brimner has done a fine job with this amusing tale and many children and parents will be able to identify with the storyline for the dialogue is believable and true to life.

Elliot has had enough of his family and decides to leave. Elliot's mother blames him for tracking mud on the clean kitchen floor when clearly his boots did it, his father thinks he makes too much noise, and his sister is a tattletale. The final straw is when Elliot's mother wants him to help straighten up his room so his uncle can share his bunk beds. Because life is not fair, Elliot packs his suitcase, makes a potato-chip-and-dill-pickle sandwich and heads off on his own. Elliot's parents even offer him some helpful packing advice. Of course, since his dad reminds him that he is not allowed to cross the street, Elliot can't get far. After a couple of trips around the block, Elliot has a snack and a rest on his neighbor's hammock Then Elliot hears laughter coming from his house and decides to investigate. Uncle Abe has arrived and is waiting for Elliot to return. It is not long till all is forgotten, and a swirling popcorn blizzard erupts as Elliot and Uncle Abe take on the rest of the family in a popcorn fight.

These charming illustrations are immediately recognizable as Eugenie Fernandes' work. Done in gouache and watercolours, the illustrations do a great job of capturing the life of the story. Some of Fernandes' work is presented in framed boxes while other colourful scenes are full-page spreads.

Elliot Fry's Good-Bye will be a fun choice for public libraries' "Family Storytimes" or for sharing with early years students in schools.

Recommended

As the result of an exciting move, Catherine Hoyt is now the Reference Librarian at the Nunavut Legislative Library in Iqaluit, Nunavut. However, she enjoys volunteering at the local public library in the newest capital in Canada.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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