MABEL MAKES (^UP) A FRIEND

A lonely, creative second grader manifests a new pal.

Mabel’s friends have been moved to another classroom, and her parents are busy raising twin infants and working from home. Mabel’s been having trouble focusing in class—but who can she turn to? After some covert appearances, an imaginary friend is revealed in the form of a pachyderm named Mr. Elephant (Mr. E for short). He’s a humorous playmate, a sympathetic sounding board, and even a voice of reason when Mabel’s insecurities get the best of her. Mabel fully understands that Mr. E isn’t real; indeed, his actions give her a way to cope with her own clumsiness and forgetfulness as she blames mishaps such as knocking over the classroom easels on her new companion. The highly expressive Mr. E brings a visual flair to the artwork, comprised mostly of stick figure–like characters. Words scrawled in a handwritten font, interspersed throughout the illustrations, add context to Mabel’s perception of the world (an arrow pointing to the words “time moving extra slowly” beside the classroom clock, for instance). The story is all rising action, ending as it does on a cliffhanger, but readers will be eager to see what’s next for Mabel and Mr. E. Mabel and her family are light-skinned, and her school’s population is diverse.

An absorbing series opener that celebrates the escapism of imaginative play.