Arthur and the meanies

K-Gr 2-Arthur the elephant wants to play, but the monkeys, tiger, peacock, and cheetah tell him he is too big, too heavy, and his nose is too silly to join their games. Duck and Frog, though, are happy to have him splashing in puddles with them. When a rainstorm comes, all the other animals promise to play with Arthur later if he will stand still and shelter them. But when the sun comes out again, only Duck and Frog stick around. Arthur expresses his anger the elephant way: by spraying water all over those meanies, who then apologize and change their ways. Though the sunny ending may be a bit pat, the story addresses the shifting tides of childhood friendships in a direct and meaningful way. The pictures combine lovely watercolor and ink illustrations with fabric and paper designs that exude a rich Eastern feel.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.