Martha, a redheaded child who loves to draw, paints a lion. It leaps off the paper, asks for lunch, and explores its surroundings… Nina Wehrle and Evelyne Laube, the Swiss illustration duo behind this story, draw reality and fantasy in competing styles. The real objects appear in clinically precise black-and-white line drawings, while the lion is rendered in a loose, inky wash with red, yellow, and blue accents. Clashes between the two worlds animate many of the spreads. Did Martha create the lion or merely issue an invitation to a creature that already existed? Either way, its energy personifies the creative impulse, wild and ungovernable.—Publishers Weekly

Engaging… Vintage appeal comes across in the limited palette of primary and secondary colors contrasted with black-and-white line drawings. The lilting rhyming text is read-aloud friendly for preschoolers, while early elementary school children who dream of bringing their fantasy worlds to life with a brush or pencil will also enjoy the story. Fans of Danny and the Dinosaur will appreciate this fanciful friendship tale that is likely to prompt a ‘read it again’ response from young children.—School Library Journal

It’s Raining Elephants is the collective name of Swiss duo Nina Wehrle and Evelyne Laube, who founded their own illustration studio in 2008. They have created several children’s books.