ALA Booklist (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

A young elephant has an unreachable itch and can't get satisfactory help from the other animals. Mr. Turtle won't try. Mr. Crocodile readily agrees, but when the croc smiles broadly, displaying his sharp teeth, the elephant declines the offer. Mr. Snail is slimy, Mr. Hippo bumps instead of scratches, and Mr. Sloth is too slow. Eventually, the elephant grabs a porcupine with his trunk and scratches away. Relief! When the elephant is done, he tosses the porcupine aside, and it becomes lodged in the ground, developing an unreachable itch of its own. Mr. Sloth comes to the rescue . . . maybe. The expressive text and illustrations act together to make the elephant's frustration clearly evident. The brief dialogue-bubble text is almost unnecessary since the action is clear from the characters' body language, but it holds its own, increasing in size as the elephant becomes agitated. Accomplishing the simplest task can sometimes be extremely daunting to a child, so there is much they can identify with in this elephant's dilemma.

Kirkus Reviews

An elephant with a terrible itch on its back seeks help from fellow animals, but when relief is finally achieved, gratitude is the last thing on its mind.Scratching an itch that can't be reached is frustrating. Enlisting the right help is even more annoying for this obnoxious pachyderm. Mr. Crocodile is more than willing, but his sharp teeth (and grin) dissuade the elephant. Mr. Snail only creates a slimy feeling down Elephant's back. As the itch grows worse, the elephant becomes increasingly upset and even rude to several more creatures willing to try, leaving the itchy beast in tears and somewhat despondent. "Oh, I have an itch on my back and it will never be scratched. I just don't know what to do." Then a sympathetic hedgehog appears: "Perhaps I can help. I'm quite pokey." Scooping the hedgehog up with its trunk and placing the spiny critter in just the right spot brings the desired relief. But the boorish elephant then forcefully flings the little guy into the air—"Off you go!"—selfishly proclaiming, "Finally! Somebody who was actually helpful!" The poor helpless hedgehog is now stuck upside down with an itch of its own and, in a reprise of an earlier joke, must wait for Mr. Sloth to slowly make his way over. While taken separately each individual encounter is quite funny, the intended amusement in the dialogue-driven story is marred by the elephant's concluding, churlish behavior, rendering the endearingly cute, delicately outlined cartoon illustrations inapt.Just plain mean-spirited. (Picture book. 3-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

An elephant has an unscratchable itch in the middle of its back. Climo (the Rory the Dinosaur books) draws the petite gray protagonist alone on an expanse of white, so when he sends out a call for help (which is identical to the book-s title), his plaintiveness is positively existential. Other animals come along, but the help they offer is ambivalent, incompetent, or downright dangerous. A hungry crocodile is a little too eager, and meerkats become inadvertent ticklers. Finally, a shy, sweet porcupine shows up and becomes the perfect backscratcher. This would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship in most stories-especially those with cartooning as adorable as Climo-s-but not this one. Once the elephant has what he needs, he hurls the porcupine into the distance, and John (The Bad Seed) has him remark to no one in particular, -Finally! Somebody who was actually helpful!- Adults who dabble in occasional misanthropy could find it funny, but children with a strong sense of fairness may cry foul. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. Illustrator-s agent: Kathleen Ortiz, New Leaf Literary. (Mar.)