Elephants Books

My son loves to read this book over and over. It's and early reader book about a wise guy baby elephant who gets his just rewards in the end.

We found this book again amidst our many older children's book and our little one just loves it! The story is of a miller in Holland who discovers two mice in his mill eating his corn. His wife advises him to go to town to buy a cat to get rid of the mice and on the way there, he runs into a circus master. The circus master talks Pieter into buying his elephant, but then winds up just giving the elephant to Pieter. Thrilled he had found a bargain and thinking that the elephant would scare the mice off, he rides his new "bargain" home. When he lets the elephant into the mill, the elephant begins eating all the milled corn! Pieter is just a mess until the two mice come out and scare the elephant back to his old master. Pieter becomes wealthy once again and the mice become part of the family.

Truly a classic and a great story - showing how even the smallest of animals can frighten the largest. Highly recommend!

An Elephant is Soft and Mushy is arguably one of the funniest books I have ever read. Not only funny, it is perceptive and the product of a deliciously jaundiced madman. There are zingers on every page aimed at everyone possible but without viciousness. Gross looks at the world's assumptions and just says, "no thanks." I love this book. It almost got me booted when I started reading it right in the bookstore (I did buy it) and began snorting because I was stupidly trying to keep from laughing out loud.

Dr. Mohanty's entitled book about the blind men and the elephant parable sums his message well. The book is well written with organized thoughts, short introductory parables, and interesting perspectives on sustainability through his unique background in thermodynamics and chemical process control. The book gives the reader an interesting outlook on current constructs, social organization values, technological knowledge, and his view of a measure of world/community success. He offers a simple yet realistic solution to the likely ecological and sociological problems using diverstiy and non-violence.

This is a cute little book featuring the preschool hero of Bill Cosby's animated series on PBS, Little Bill. Since the illustrations (which are fabulous, by the way) appear to be done in the very same style as the television cartoon, I suspect they may be stills from an actual episode. If that's the case, the writers have done a remarkable job of translating it into a kid's picture book.

Little Bill himself is a kid who lives downtown with his family and his pet hamster, Elephant. One day, while LB is distracted, Elephant wanders off in his bedroom before he could be put back in his ball. Poor LB thinks his friend has run away from home. He and his whole family search the house, in both likely and unlikely places, until Bill's older brother comes up with a plan to lure Elephant back that just might work.
The story has a nice, unhurried pacing and sequence that little ones will have fun following as the family explores the house in their search. I like that it subtly encourages children to engage their problem solving skills and search each page for where the hamster is hiding. There is also an underlying message of the importance of compassion and helping. Like the several episodes that I have watched on tv with my two kids, this story is great material for preschoolers that they have no trouble identifying with.
-A, aka merribelle

I am sad to see that this book is currently out of print - I wanted to buy it for my niece. It is a really great book and one my kids ask for repeatedly. We own hundreds of books and it is a favorite.

Elephant Polo is the perfect mix of action, adventure, modern history, desire, escape and redemption. This book has it all. Exquisitly developed characters seem to jump out of the pages as if you'd known them your whole life. The backdrop of the ongoing political crisis in Nepal gives the book depth, although many passages will also have you splitting your sides laughing.

Flavia Weedn and Lisa Weedn Gilbert have done it again. Such a delightful tale. I just keep reading it again and again.

Can't take the kids to Africa? You won't believe that illustrations in this book are painted-they look like photographs and bring the subject to life. The text is a bit rich for little ones, but mine came back to it again and again. I think this ranks with "Market Day" as two of Lewin's best.

I just could no put this one down as I took it out of the box. Must read for any quilter.