Elephants Storytime
There are many great elephant characters in children’s books, including Babar, Horton, Elmer, and Gerald. Here are some other elephant picture books. For a craft project, make elephant paper bag puppets: Paper Bag Elephant Craft (dltk-kids.com).
Allepuz, Anuska. That Fruit Is Mine! Five elephants try to get fruit from a tree but miss out when mice use teamwork to get what they want.
Banks, Kate. How to Find an Elephant. A boy gives tips on searching for elephants, and the audience will see the hidden elephant in the illustrations.
Barrow, David. Have You Seen Elephant? The audience will enjoy pointing out the elephant in each illustration, as he tries to hide.
Hayes, Kjersten. The Elephants’ Guide to Hide-and-Seek. Written as a guide book, this describes the difficulty an elephant has with the popular game, using humor.
Heim, Alastair. Quiet Down, Loud Town! In this rhyming story filled with onomatopoeia, an elephant wants quiet so he can sleep.
Henkes, Kevin. A Parade of Elephants. Five elephants help toddlers learn the words for colors and numbers.
Staub, Leslie. If You Were an Elephant. Facts about elephants are woven into this joyful picture book, with the repeated title perfect for audience participation.
Willms, Russ. Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees (Or Do They?). Larry the elephant is criticized for living in a tree, until a bulldozer tries to take out the tree.
Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. In this adaptation of the folktale “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” mice describe different parts of an animal to figure out what it is. Numbers and colors are part of the rhyming text.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool