Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
What Elephant?
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Kids Can Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-1553378754
One day George’s life is turned completely upside down when an elephant moves into his house. Poor George tries to tell his friends and neighbors that there is an elephant sitting on his couch eating his chocolate chip cookies, but they don’t believe him and they tell him that he must have had too much sun. They recommend that George should go home to have a little rest.
Back at home George finds out that this is going to be hard to do for the elephant is sleeping in his bed. Poor George has to content himself with sleeping on his now broken couch. As he falls asleep he hopes that “everything will be quite normal” when he wakes up. Alas, the elephant is still in residence in the morning and it is turning out to be an even bigger nuisance than it was the day before.
Day after day the elephant disrupts George’s life. It eats his food, wears his clothes, and George gets more and more unhappy. Is he still dreaming or has he gone “mad, crazy, nuts or out of my mind?”
As you read this deliciously funny picture book you will be able to have a good laugh at the way in which everyone tries to pretend that there isn’t an elephant staying at George’s house. How can all those people pretend that the elephant does not exist when it so clearly does? Readers might find themselves wondering if there are things going on around them that they, like George’s friends, try to ignore.
