Two friends nurse an injured elk back to health in Pamela J. Howard’s heartwarming children’s picture book Hey Baby: The Elk that Survived!
On a cold day in a Colorado valley, PJ is driving and sees a young male elk limping with a bleeding, swollen back leg. PJ goes home and calls the wildlife department, but no one offers help. PJ’s friend Annie brings the elk water and hay, and they begin alternating feedings. Each greets the elk by saying “Hey Baby,” which becomes his nickname.
After weeks, Hey Baby’s leg hasn’t healed, and people tell PJ and Annie that he won’t survive. But they persevere, and eventually Hey Baby heals enough to jump a fence and rejoin his herd. Annie later sees him with the elk and calls out to him, and he says “Thank you” with a jump and a wiggle of his tail.
This simple story of saving a wild animal is told in a graceful, memorable way. Many beautiful sentences create empathy for the characters, whether it’s Annie crying with joy after hearing about Hey Baby’s return to his herd or emotional descriptions of Hey Baby’s earlier plight: “As Hey Baby would shut his eyes at night, he could hear the owls go hoot, hoot, hoot, and the coyotes made a yap-yap-yap sound, which scared the young elk.”
The art is excellent as well, touching emotions in unison with the text. This is seen in a poignant back view of the elk, alone at night looking up at a star, and in many other examples. The humans, wildlife and landscapes are rendered in a colorful, appealing, realistic style.
Children will enjoy this warm, loving picture book about friends who care for an animal and see him happily return to nature.