Elmer

Elmer is an elephant. An elephant who looks different.

All the other elephants love Elmer because he does silly things to make the other elephants laugh. But Elmer gets tired of being the "funny one." So he goes into the jungle, finds some elephant-colored mud, and spreads it all over himself.

When he gets back to the elephant herd, no one notices him at all. He looks just like everyone else. But then something funny happens, and the other elephants figure things out. The end of the story is fun--but I'll leave that for you to discover.

So this is a story about being different and being yourself. It's a good message. I'm not sure that younger kids will really get the message unless it's explained to them, but they'll definitely like a crazy-colored elephant.

Elmer

Written by David McKee
Age range*: 3-6
My rating: 4 stars [out of five]

*Age ranges are very flexible.

Full disclosure: I don't receive any compensation for reviewing children's books--the books are usually just checked out from the local library.