Elmer - David McKee

...favourite, a classic!
Elmer was first published in 1989 and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide
I remember coming across this book about 16 years ago, and reading it to a class of Key Stage 1 children (Infants in those days). What struck me at the time was how different to many of the picture books available then; it was bright and cheerful and emphasized an important message.
I still read it now to children in Key Stage ...
.../> "Elmer was different.
Elmer was patchwork"
Children love this page, when they see Elmer for the first time and laugh at the fact that there he is…elephant shape and size but all different colours.
Elmer keeps all the elephants happy and makes them laugh, and is obviously a very popular elephant.
However, in a lot of ways, Elmer is troubled, and one night he couldn't sleep, because he was thinking thoughts. ... more

An enduring favourite, a classic!
Elmer was first published in 1989 and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide
I remember coming across this book about 16 years ago, and reading it to a class of Key Stage 1 children (Infants in those days). What struck me at the time was how different to many of the picture books available then; it was bright and cheerful and emphasized an important message.
I still read it now to children in Key Stage 1 and 2 and have read it to my own three children. Somehow, it has never appeared old fashioned or dated, which can so often happen with either a storyline or the illustrations.

**THE STORY**

The story starts with a herd of elephants, all different in some way but all the same colour (grey)…all of them except Elmer.
"Elmer was different.
Elmer was patchwork"
Children love this page, when they see Elmer for the first time and laugh at the fact that there he is…elephant shape and size but all different colours.
Elmer keeps all the elephants happy and makes them laugh, and is obviously a very popular elephant.
However, in a lot of ways, Elmer is troubled, and one night he couldn't sleep, because he was thinking thoughts. "Whoever heard of a patchwork elephant?… No wonder they laugh at me"
Cue at this stage to talk about the difference between laughing at people and laughing with people. I find that even very young children are very quick to point out that the other elephants were not laughing at Elmer, but were laughing because he started jokes.
Elmer gets out of bed and walks through the jungle, meeting other animals along the way, all of whom recognize him and say "Good morning Elmer" when he passes.
When Elmer has been walking for some time, he finds a bush covered with elephant colour berries. Let the children predict what he is going to do!! Elmer shakes the bush, and when the berries have fallen to the ground, Elmer rolls in them until when he stands up he is just like any other elephant-grey.
When he walks back through the jungle, he realizes that his mission has been a complete success; none of the other animals recognize him and say "Good morning elephant"
Elmer joins the rest of the elephants and nobody recognizes him. He stands with them and then notices something seems to be wrong; same old jungle, same old elephants. So what is wrong?
At this stage, children will start to suggest possible problems, and usually pick up on the rain clouds and say there is going to be a storm.
No, the something Elmer thinks is wrong, is that the elephants are standing completely still and quietly, and this makes Elmer want to laugh.
At last he can't stand it any more, lifts up his trunk and shouts
"BOO!"A ll the elephants jump and Elmer starts to laugh. Immediately, they guess that it must be Elmer and start to laugh and as they laugh it starts to rain
What is going to happen now?
Yes, children usually guess it…all of the berry dye is rinsed off Elmer and as the elephants laugh, one tells Elmer that this is the funniest joke he has ever played.
"It didn't take you long to show your true colours"
They decide to have a special day when all the elephants have to decorate themselves, and Elmer decorates himself in elephant colour"
And this is exactly what they do… that's the day when if you see an elephant who is ordinary elephant colour, then it must be Elmer.

**ILLUSTRATIONS**

Throughout, the illustrations are bold and vibrant. The first picture of Elmer is excellent for practicing colours with very young children. Let them draw their own Elmer.
As you look though the book, Elmer seems to have been drawn as more of a line drawing and more simply than the other elephants, which serves to emphasise his individuality.
The pictures of all the elephants together gives a real sense of stillness- all grey elephants, then we meet Elmer. The next time we see this stillness is just before Elmer shouts "BOO!". That one word is shouted across a double spread, to give an idea of the loudness after the stillness.
The picture Little Miss likes most is at the end of the story when all of the elephants have decorated themselves- it's incredibly colourful and shows the elephants with stripes, squiggles, hearts and all manner of decorations.
Lots of children want to decorate their own elephants and children have done some excellent Elmer displays with a range of colourful elephants.
All in all, excellent drawings which really appeal to children. They are simply done, usually against a very plain background, to ensure that the main picture is the one which is emphasized.

**PUBLISHER**

My copy is published by Red Fox, ISBN 0-09-96720-3, but the popularity of the Elmer stories has ensured that the stories have been published by several publishers.
Check out any major sites for information, and prices.

**WEBSITE**

I have tried to find a specific Elmer website when we have been reading this book in class, but unfortunately (and surprisingly) there doesn't appear to be one.
One website which I do use quite often is www.randomhouse.co.uk which has a direct link to their kids at Random House. This link has lots of Elmer information and games such as Elmer's Concert…if you can stand it, children love clicking away to hear the animal noises!

**OTHER ELMER BOOKS AND PRODUCTS**

There are lots of Elmer books and gifts; one of the best place I have found to buy a wide selection is madhousegifts.com.

Some of the products and books available to buy if you catch the "Elmer bug" are…

• Elmer the elephant soft toy
• Elmer's Colours board book
• Elmer and Wilbur soft back book
• Elmer in The Snow
• Elmer on Stilts
• The Elmer pop up book
• Elmer Plays Hide and Seek
• Elmer and the Stranger

These make excellent gifts, and I have bought many for the classroom and to make up story sacks for young children

**OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR**

A lot of the books you will probably recognize…

• Tusk Tusk (1978)
• Not Now Bernard (1980)
• I Hate My Teddy (1982)
• Two Can Toucan (1985)
• Mary's Secret (1999)

**WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?**

The very fact that I have been reading it for over 15 years means that I couldn't not recommend it.
I do lots of work on behaviour management and low self esteem…all the stuff that emotional and social education is made up of.
This book contains a very subtle yet powerful message that it is ok to be different… not just ok, but the fact that we are different should be celebrated.
The illustrations work superbly with the story and ensure that the message is clear.
It is an excellent book to read aloud to children from as young as 3 or 4; don't worry if they don't understand the message, just enjoy the story. It is an amusing and entertaining story in its own right. Children from about 7 will probably enjoy reading it themselves, and especially if they have heard the story lots of times, they will have no trouble with even some of the more difficult vocabulary…as long as they get the gist, and enjoy it!
Combine this excellent message, superb story with the vibrant pictures and the very readable story, and you have a winner!

Thanks for reading.
 

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