Doris

Doris is an elephant who hates everyone looking at her. The trouble is she stands out from the crowd because she is red – all over. Doris decides to hide and chooses a flock of highly colourful birds where she is very well camouflaged. This leads her to wonder whether she is an ele-finch rather than an ele-phant. Unfortunately, the birds soon fly off and Doris is visible again. She seeks out more hiding places and finds refuge amongst wildflowers and in a pool of shimmering fish; leading her to wonder if she is an ele-plant or even an ele-fish. Doris feels increasingly lost and alone until she meets a blue rhinoceros who seems to be having similar problems.

This is a lovely picture book with a very appealing story about a shy elephant having an identity crisis. The beautifully designed flat colour illustrations are bold and full of humour and there is a playful approach to language and to the book format itself as Doris stomps off ‘to the next page.’ The repeated refrain ‘Stop looking at me!’  encourages children to join in. There are other interactive elements too, as young readers are directly invited to find the elephant hidden in the sea of birds, flowers or fish. Overall great fun and highly recommended.