PINS AND NEEDLES
by John Talbot & illustrated by John Talbot
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)