Children's book - Elliott by Tobin Sprout

Now I am going to do a book review which is very unusual, seeing as this is a music blog, but this is the book "Elliott" by Tobin Sprout - the singer I wrote my previous post about.

The publishers, Mackinac Island Press were kind enough to send me an exclusive PDF preview of the book and I have to say I am very impressed. The story is not only written by Tobin Sprout; he is also responsible for the stunning illustrations.

It's a children's book about a rabbit called Elliott, who works as part of a magician's act, and a little girl called April who is his biggest fan.

Here's a little excerpt:

"Elliott loved when Walter announced the show each night.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Amazing Magic Show,
featuring. . .ELLIOTT. . .THE MAGICAL! ”
Elliott loved being in the spotlight. He loved the sweet smell
of cotton candy and fresh popcorn that filled the air. When Elliott
popped out of his magic top hat, people cheered.
To Elliott, Walter Wiggins was a hero. His small gestures of love
grew large in the hearts of those he touched. He especially touched
the heart of a little orphan girl named April, the biggest fan the carnival
ever had."

I really loved reading this. I thought it had a beautiful, 'antique' or Victorian quality to it. The drawings were lovely. The story itself is very imaginative and wonderfully written, but also holds important lessons for children, such as loss and learning to let go and carry on with life.

I feel it's a story that children wouldn't necessarily be able to grasp if they were reading it by themselves. It's something that would be perfect for a parent to read their child at bedtime, or a teacher to read to their class in an afternoon lesson.

I feel very privileged to have been basically sent an amazing book for free. All they asked for was my opinion, they didn't even ask me to do this.

Still, it's no substitute for the real book. I might just have to order it from their website at Mackinac Island Press.

While I'm on the subject of writing (and gushing) I just want to say thank you to Pass Your Driving Test for posting my whole article on your blog. And also want to thank Post Secret for reminding me there are people out there with bigger problems than mine!