Come Back Soon

In Come Back Soon, Daniel Schallau pairs his story about a globe-trotting elephant with capricious pencil, ink, and colored pencil artwork that features a wealth of humorous details. In the story, Mr. Elephant, the architect decides to travel from Elephant Island to Icetown, where a hotel has been built using his design. Letters back and forth between Mr. Elephant and his penguin clients have forged strong friendships, and the residents of Icetown are planning a party in their new friend's honor. Unfortunately, when the elephant arrives in Icetown, problems arise: the town, which sits on an iceberg, is just the right size for a community of penguins, but things get crowded with the arrival of a large, heavy, heat-loving elephant. While Schallau's story is simple, his illustrations of his fanciful penguin paradise are full of the "numerous tiny details" that will fascinate young children. The story mirrors Daniel's own journey to live in Japan where he currently lives.