Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Storm clouds darken—both literally and figuratively—a young girl's solitary summer idyll when her grandpa welcomes a new houseguest.Blexbolex teases with the new guest's identity in this wordless outing, as it may look like a small gray elephant in most of the pictures, but it behaves like another child…and appears as a boy in a pair of dream sequences. The girl greets the new arrival's friendly overtures with a cold shoulder and mean pranks initially, but she repents after alienating him so that he doesn't come home one evening and then forcing her grandpa to go out into a blustery night to fetch him back inside. By then he's fed up, though, so the standoff continues…until the night everyone in the community dons animal masks and gathers beneath the stars for a country fair. But just when it seems like the quarrel might be resolved, the girl wakes up next morning and he's gone. She catches a final glimpse of the lad—and, astonishingly, the elephant—waving from the departing train. This poignant tale of lost opportunity is presented through a series of small action and reaction shots set within larger views of a tidy country house in serene woodsy surrounds, all printed in serigraphic style on rough surfaced cloth. Emotional tapestries are easy to plot, both through the interplay of rich colors and deep shadows and the characters' strong, graceful postures and gestures. The primary (human) cast is pale-skinned.Magical work, as immersive as the author's Ballad (2013) or his larger-format picture albums. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)

ALA Booklist (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

A girl visits her grandfather during summer vacation, exploring the generous fields of grass surrounding his home. An arriving train brings a tiny elephant, come to stay for a while. Despite grandpa's best efforts, immediate tension escalates to unfortunate lengths, and things suddenly become more dreamlike. Girl and elephant find common ground at a village masquerade fair, and, departing on a dream-train, the girl meets a boy who may in fact be the elephant, presaging a final melancholy surprise. Blexbolex, an award-winner for this book in his native France, crafts a distinctive design that make the work feels like a true artifact of the past. Nostalgic imagery; fading print; heavy, textured paper that begs to be caressed; a wordless story that evokes a silent era l reach out to a history when the imagination and craftsmanship of the creator were several steps closer to the reader. It does, however, make for an esoteric experience, and while some may find it alienating, others will surely be entranced.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

In this surreal, wordless summertime story, a young girl explores outdoors until her grandfather calls her inside. They walk to the train station to meet a small, sailor-hat-wearing elephant, who brings stress and disharmony. After the elephant departs, the girl returns to exploring nature--but not before a final moment of surprise. Lush colors and screenprint patterns radiate from the roughly textured pages, creating an open-ended, dreamlike reading experience.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Storm clouds darken—both literally and figuratively—a young girl's solitary summer idyll when her grandpa welcomes a new houseguest.Blexbolex teases with the new guest's identity in this wordless outing, as it may look like a small gray elephant in most of the pictures, but it behaves like another child…and appears as a boy in a pair of dream sequences. The girl greets the new arrival's friendly overtures with a cold shoulder and mean pranks initially, but she repents after alienating him so that he doesn't come home one evening and then forcing her grandpa to go out into a blustery night to fetch him back inside. By then he's fed up, though, so the standoff continues…until the night everyone in the community dons animal masks and gathers beneath the stars for a country fair. But just when it seems like the quarrel might be resolved, the girl wakes up next morning and he's gone. She catches a final glimpse of the lad—and, astonishingly, the elephant—waving from the departing train. This poignant tale of lost opportunity is presented through a series of small action and reaction shots set within larger views of a tidy country house in serene woodsy surrounds, all printed in serigraphic style on rough surfaced cloth. Emotional tapestries are easy to plot, both through the interplay of rich colors and deep shadows and the characters' strong, graceful postures and gestures. The primary (human) cast is pale-skinned.Magical work, as immersive as the author's Ballad (2013) or his larger-format picture albums. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)