Pins and Needles - Hardcover

Poor Jean Pierre! When the alarm goes off, he awakes with his trunk prickling with an elephant-sized case of ``pins and needles,'' and despite following the varied advice of his mouse roommate, Bonsoir, and his sister Melissa (``You need exercise...come to my aerobics class''), the weird sensation persists. Even after Uncle Maurice (an inventor) blows Jean Pierre up like a balloon and lets him go to loop a remarkable vapor trail across the landscape, his trunk still tingles. The ultimate solution--Bonsoir contrives a giant shadow that scares Jean Pierre out of his ailment--isn't particularly apt, but the shenanigans along the way are amusing, especially as depicted in Talbot's energetic pen-and-watercolor illustrations of the appealingly comical pachyderm and his pals. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Jean Pierre the elephant and his sidekick Bonsoir the mouse try to cope with a very uncomfortable problem--Jean Pierre's trunk has fallen asleep. In a seemingly endless series of visits to a variety of family and friends, the two are offered a succession of predictable home remedies. Finally, it is the faithful mouse who cures his friend by casting his own scary shadow on the wall and shocking the pins and needles away. Bonsoir also insures that the pachyderm will never suffer this malady again, by rigging up a traction device unique in the annals of medical care. Lackluster pen-and-ink with wash paintings, though splashed with occasional humor, add little excitement or suspense to the already attenuated tale. Few kids will stay with it to the ultimately upbeat conclusion. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.