This is a short (I think it's one of Polacco's shortest), sweet book about two best friends who do everything together. One friend is a little girl, and the other is a big, grey, wrinkly elephant. The reader wonders the entire time, "Which friend is Emma Kate?" at the very end of the story, Polacco reveals who's who.
This a book that almost every child can relate to - imaginative play and friendship are close to the hearts of children. Polacco has based this story on an imaginary elephant friend from her own childhood.
Polacco has a vivid imagination herself and this imaginative quality is reflected in both the stories and illustrations of her children books. The illustrations in this book are very lovely. She uses a realistic style and close attention to detail to create intricate pencil drawings. The detail is so neat! The weight of the elephant becomes apparent when the reader sees that the sofa is crushed like an accordion when the elephant sits down, and the bike tires are flattened out from the enormous size of the elephant when the two friends ride double.
Polacco's use of color in this book is very interesting. She chose to use watercolor selectively in the illustrations to create contrast between the characters, objects, and interactions between them. The little girl's dress for instance, is painted in a vibrant red with a blue flowery pattern - the pattern of the dress is part of every illustration - it is the only constant color carried from page to page, otherwise the majority of the illustrations are done in black and white.
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