NELLIE'S KNOT
by Ken Brown & illustrated by Ken Brown
A one-idea story with a funny premise: Nellie, a little elephant, has tied a knot in her trunk as an aide-mÇmoire, but can't remember why. Meanwhile, Nellie can't walk in line because the knot makes her trunk too short to reach her mother's tail, can't wash behind her ears or even eat. There are also clues that a birthday is afoot: the other animals are blowing up balloons and baking a cake. Sure enough, it's Nellie's: that's what she was trying not to forget—as she realizes when she blows out her candle and thus unties her trunk. With a simple text and appealing watercolors of the animals in their home at the edge of an African jungle, a likable introduction to this British illustrator. (Picture book. 1-6)