Leo Timmers

Arnold, the seafaring elephant of this book’s title, meets disaster with apparent equanimity and an endearing ingenuity in a warm and enjoyable adventure. Arnold’s tendency to rush in gets him into scrapes with the series of characters who could potentially rescue him from shipwreck but in the process of trying to solve those problems he actually makes Elephant Island ‘too much fun to leave.’ In the end, the book reminds us that life’s difficulties can also result in the things most precious to us.

I must warn you before you start. This review is going to be gushing.

Leo Timmers has been producing picturebooks from Belgium for over nine years and I am ashamed to say this is the first I’ve read of his. But first to the story, which is all told wordlessly.