Humphrey's Family

Humphrey and his elephant family are introduced through a series of captioned watercolour illustrations; they go to visit grandparents then go home 'to the old house at the top of the hill'. I didn't really warm to Humphrey's family with their knowing comments, their cosy lifestyle and their rather un-elephantine shapes - their heads in particular are clumsily formed of a circle with trunk stuck on. Some of Hunter's pictures have enough substance to convey more than the mundane but most, surrounded by white page, do little to elaborate on the text. Described as a 'gift-book', this is part of a soft toy/greeting card/website business, and I am surprised to see Puffin, once a hallmark of picture book quality and style, involved.