FROM THE PUBLISHER

Elliot Moose and his best friend, Socks, are excited aboutperforming in tonights talent show. But as they put the finishing touches to the stage, Socks and her can of paint tumble from a ladder and SPLAT! she and Elliot are splotched in bright blue from head to foot!

Their friends fill the bathroom sink and Elliot and Socks leap into the warm, soapy water. They splish and splosh and have lots of bubbly fun but soon theyre so waterlogged that they cant move! And no attempt to dry the soggy pair works. Will Elliot and Socks get dry in time to make a splash at the talent show?

Author Biography: Andrea Beck is a writer, illustrator and plush toy designer.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

Elliot Moose and his best friend Socks are in a real mess. While putting the finishing touches of paint on the stage for the evening's performance, Socks loses his balance and falls, and the two are covered in blue paint. The simple solution to take a bath brings on a disaster of its own. The two stuffed buddies find themselves water-logged and unable to climb out of the tub. Clever beaver comes up with a solution that rescues the pair and fluffs them up for the show that night. The fourth in the "Elliot Moose" series, this is a pleasant little diversion that will find an audience among the pre-school set. The expressive illustrations capture the charm of this menagerie of stuffed animals. 2001, Kids Can Press, $12.95. Ages 4 to 6. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-As they are making the final preparations for a big talent show, Socks the monkey reaches too far from the high ladder and spills blue paint all over Elliot Moose and herself. When a bath is suggested, Elliot agrees, although he has never had one before. However, being stuffed animals, they do not realize how soggy and waterlogged they will become. Their friends attempt to dry them with towels, a fan, and a toy airplane propeller. They finally light upon the idea of hanging on the outside clothesline. Once they are dry, the show can go on. The pencil-crayon artwork is expressive and finely detailed, bringing Elliot and friends to life. Socks's delight when she turns her favorite color purple is cleverly portrayed. Use this story with Diana White's No Bath for Boris (Dutton, 1990; o.p.) and Audrey Wood's King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (Harcourt, 1985) for a squeaky-clean storytime.-Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DE Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Several stuffed animals run into a problem when Socks the monkey inadvertently spills paint on herself and on Elliot the plush moose. While trying to wash it off in the sink, Elliot and Socks find themselves waterlogged and unable to climb out without help. Then they must puzzle out how to get dry before curtain time for their evening performance in the toys' talent show. Their friends' attempts at drying them include rolling them in towels and turning an electric hair dryer on the wet toys, but nothing works until Elliot hits on the solution of attaching himself and Socks to the clothesline to dry out in the sun. The show goes on as planned. The stuffed animals are gently appealing and variously textured in the pencil crayon illustrations, but neither the mild story nor the pictures give Elliot or his friends much in the way of distinctive personalities. This is the fourth book about these characters by Beck (Elliot's Shipwreck, not reviewed, etc.), who based Elliot on a favorite creation from her plush toy company. Fans of the books will not be disappointed, but there's not much else to recommend. (Picture book. 2-5)