Little Nelly's Big Book by Pippa Goodhart

Little Nelly's Big Book by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Andy Rowland
Bloomsbury

Rating: 5 stars

Little Nelly (the young elephant in this story) and I (the writer typing away at this review) share something: we both believe a lot of what we read. Luckily, I've not had a crisis like Little Nelly. Yet.

Little Nelly opens a book and reads that mice can be gray. Mice have big ears. Mice have skinny tails.

Little Nelly is gray. She has big ears. She has a skinny tail.

Ergo, Little Nelly must be...a mouse?!

After this terrific realization, she pushes through the wall in order to get to the mice den behind it and starts bunking with the mouse family. At first, they are startled. That's pretty reasonable, methinks. But kindly and generously, Granny Mouse leads the way in welcoming big Little Nelly to their small home. They pull the biggest blanket they have over her, comb her hair, give her cheese to eat, play with her.

So Little Nelly went home.

Still, Little Nelly "sometimes felt she was different."

After a while, wise Granny Mouse decides to take Little Nelly to the zoo, where she finds big mice, just like her. Everyone's happy...and a little relieved.

I love this sweet tale of friends being friends regardless of their size or shape or color. I love how the mice are so gentle with Little Nelly's false certainty that she's a mouse. I love how one little mouse picks up the same book Little Nelly did at the beginning and starts wondering if he is, in fact, an elephant. And I really love the last line in this picture book:

"Which just goes to show why books should always have pictures."

Draw! by Raúl Colón

Draw! by Raúl Colón

Rating: 5 stars

Last month the New York Times published their annual list (and I'm a lover of all lists, especially when they are lists of books, not to-dos) of Best Illustrated Books for 2014. Click HERE to access this great list. But watch out! Raúl Colón's gorgeous book Draw! is the first one, and when I looked at the illustration from it I knew I needed to see all of it. So don't expect to just look. Expect to buy. At least one. (I already owned Shackleton's Journey, or else I would have purchased that, too.)

Anyway.

Raúl Colón suffered from severe asthma as a child. Frequently, he'd find himself locked up indoors--for days on end--in order to hide from the pollen that made breathing difficult. But he endured those many hours on those many days away from the world by escaping into books and his own drawing (and sometimes comic books he wrote and illustrated himself). This wordless picture book is inspired by the hours he spent as a child trapped in his room but free in his imagination...

In Draw!, a boy is sitting on his bed, absorbed in a book about Africa. He puts the book aside and grabs his sketchbook, and draws himself walking, walking, walking into the book. (This transporting-into-a-book is something my kids talk about all the time. Are they alone? Do your kids do this?) The boy walks and walks until he sees an elephant. Gladly, it is a friendly elephant that poses for him and then gives him a ride rather than charges him.

The elephant becomes his guide as he walks around the grasslands, meeting and drawing giraffes, lions, gorillas, water buffalo, and a rhino that is the least friendly of the bunch (check out the cover, above left). His eyes and heart soak up the experience and he draws and draws and draws all these animals...until suddenly he is transported back to his original world, where he is presenting his animal artwork to his class.

The wordless story is fine. But the illustrations! They are inspirational works of art, each one.

I loved reading more about Raúl Colón and his technique in an interview on the fabulous School Library Journal blog. Here's what he has to say about how he draws each and every illustration in this book, and his others:

Usually I use colored pencil over watercolor wash. In this case, with the African images, I bought Pantone color papers, and I went straight onto the paper with Prismacolor pencils. The paper has a nice grain to it. If you’re going to use color pencils, it’s good to use a grain paper. 

I found the etching instrument by accident—something [a former] boss purchased when I worked at a  TV station in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It’s like a giant flat coin with prongs sticking out. First I sketch onto the paper. The boy’s pants may look brown, but there are actually layers of greens, purples, and blues, which make the colors appear much more vivid. (I learned this from the Impressionists, who put colors next to each other to enhance images.) After I know where everything goes, I start etching with this instrument—wherever I think I need movement or volume.

We're fans of this author/illustrator for sure. I'm embarrassed that this is the first time I've mentioned him on this blog! If you're curious about his work, definitely check out more books by him. (Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates is my personal favorite.)

Elephant and Piggie: Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems

Elephant and Piggie: Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems

Rating: 5 stars

We've loved Elephant and Piggie for a long, long time. I've written about them a few times before (most recently HERE and before that HERE). They are the best easy reader series that exists, and if you are working on reading with your kiddo, you need to check out every single one of them from the library. Really, you do.

But this book. Waiting Is Not Easy. This one take the cake.

This is the best!  The best book in a fantastic series! Do you REALIZE what this means?! This is one spectacular book!

Perhaps I've read it so many times that I am now beginning to talk like Gerald and Piggie? There could be worse things.

SO! The book!

Piggie has something to show Gerald. But he has to wait for it. And Gerald has a waiting problem. I know a waiting problem when I see one because I have serious waiting problems, too. Gerald and I (and my kids, like most kids) have serious deficiencies when it comes to patience. It's really a bummer that Target doesn't sell patience, really. It'd be so handy to have an extra six-pack of patience sitting around...

ANYWAY! The book!

So Gerald does his best to wait--which Piggie insists he must do, he has no choice, the surprise is not ready yet--and finally he does wait until the final few pages of the book, when the reader turns the page and together with Gerald we gasp in appreciation.

Gerald learns he has to wait some more.
(I do the same thing.)

It's a starry, starry night in Gerald and Piggie's world, and they both look up at it, in awe. They are both dumbstruck at the view.

And Gerald says, simply and quietly: "That was worth waiting for."

What a great book to put in the hands of our children! Geesh, what a great book to put in the hands of our friends and partners and siblings, too! In this world of now-now-NOW, where we want what we want yesterday, not months or years from now, it is even more important to teach kids that waiting is difficult and worthwhile.

Some things are worth waiting for.

Isn't that true?

Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd

Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd

Rating: 4 stars

Confession: I am not a fan of Cinderella.  I think the story of how a raggedy, beautiful maid gets some magical help to attend a ball where a prince falls in love with her, then marries her and they live happily ever is downright maddening. I will not bore you with the details of my dislike...

And yet, I can't help but like this book, a silly rip off of the original Cinderella.  It is filled with so many elephantine jokes and references, that I can't help but admit Emma Dodd deserves long and loud applause because she clearly produced a very funny book.

You know the story--Cinderelephant lived with her cousins (the warthog sisters) and did all the cooking and cleaning, and did not get invited to the fancy party thrown to enable Prince Trunky--son of Queen Wrinkley and King Saggy--to find a girlfriend.  Luckily, though, her Furry Godmouse flicked his magical tail and POOF! helped her find a sparkly number that fit her just right. She goes, he falls in love with her, she doesn't leave early enough and has to run home, yet drops one of her sparkly shoes.  The prince uses said shoe to find her, and when the shoe fits, he declares, "You are the one for me!"

"Wow, you look amazing! Go to the party and enjoy yourself,"
said the Furry Godmouse, "but, and it's a big but...you must
be home by midnight."

And then they "were married the very next day. And, of course, they were hugely happy ever after."

My disbelief just could not be suspended on the last few pages.  I sure wish they had at least dated a few months. Perhaps they could have had a few long conversations where Cinderelephant's other interests and ideas and imagination could have been shared with the reader?  Perhaps visited each other's families, or gone on a long road trip together to test their compatibility? Am I being a little too Muggle about this? Sigh. I think I am.

The elephant references are so very witty, the pictures so very adorable, and hopefully you'll talk with your kids about the amount of time they really ought to take with serious life choices like marriage!

A Big Guy Took My Ball! By Mo Willems

A Big Guy Took My Ball! By Mo Willems

Rating: 5 stars


Dear Mo Willems,

Here at our house, we love you.  We just LOVE you!  We love the way that you put together such silly little stories packed with great big lessons in a simple conversation between two funny friends.  There is no end to the delight we get from these Elephant and Piggie books!

Please don't stop writing them.  Not ever.

Please don't stop illustrating them.  Not ever.

They.  Are.  Perfection.

What?  Piggie? Melodramatic?  Nah...!

Love,
Lorelei & Ben & Kiefer's mom



P.S.  I should add that while some of the books are simply great but not out-of-this-world, A Big Guy Took My Ball! is in the out-of-this-world category.  Elephant tries to rescue a big ball that Piggie found from a Big Guy who swiped it.  He's determined to be her hero, to not let her down, but then he sees that the Big Guy is actually...REALLY BIG.  Even when compared to a pretty big elephant.  He's suddenly a lot less brave.  But then the Big Guy explains that it's his (little) ball and that no one will play with him because he's so big.  So they create a random, inclusive game that they all play happily ever after.

There really is no comparison to this great series of beginner reader books.  If you've got a child tripping along to reading by himself or herself, these books are going to be your best friends.  They are short and funny, they involve very few words, and you and your new reader can each read a "part" in the book.  Like I said--they are perfection!

Land of the Pilgrim's Pride by Callista Gingrich

Land of the Pilgrim's Pride by Callista Gingrich, illustrated by Susan Arciero

Rating: 3 stars

Halloween is barely over--you're probably still sick from eating too much candy--but I thought I'd throw out a book referencing our next holiday...Thanksgiving.  I'm a bit dumbfounded at the crazy-high rating this book gets on Amazon; I found it to be way too deep for the age range (5-8) it supposedly targets.  But...you decide!

Here's my review from Washington Family Magazine:

My children are all too young for serious history lessons.  Especially the youngest, at 19 months.  Like all of you, I still try to inject the older two (5 ½ and 4) with appropriately-sized bits of information whenever possible.  Through walks around the monuments, trips to historical place and dozens of books in between, they’ve picked up an impressive amount of information.  (Does knowing that Abraham Lincoln wore a top hat count?  Sure!)  

I expected Land of the Pilgrims’ Pride to fit alongside these trips of ours—to be nonfiction and educational, but geared to a young crowd.  I was right about nonfiction and educational, but should have paid more attention to the target age group for the book: ages 5 to 8.  There is a lot of information in the book.  My daughter, Lorelei, has an impressive attention span and is an advanced reader, and she soaked it up.  I was able to quiz her comprehension in a not-so-annoying way when today at the Air and Space Museum she overheard a girl tell a guide that she’d spent part of her winter break in Williamsburg.  

“Mom!  Williamsburg!  Like in the book!”  

I gave myself an imaginary gold star and patted her on the back.  (Maybe I should have patted her on the back first, but…that gives you a glimpse into my self-inflated psyche.)

To read the rest of the review--I actually do talk about the book--click here.

Hopper and Wilson by Maria Van Lieshout

Hopper and Wilson by Maria Van Lieshout

Rating: 4 stars

Ever listen in to a funny little conversation between two small children?  I love listening to Lorelei and Ben chat about something they know little about--there is something ridiculously charming their exchange, filled with questions and answers which are both innocent and curious.  This book begins with one such conversation.

Hopper: "What do you think it's like at the end of the world?"

Wilson:  "Not sure...but I bet there's lots of lemonade!  I love lemonade."

Hopper:  "And a staircase to the moon!  So I can touch it."

Wilson:  "Well, there's only one way to find out."

(I love the sense of adventure!  The confidence that little Wilson portrays.)

Hopper couldn't hear a thing except the roar of the crashing waves.

So they make a newspaper boat, wave good-bye to their cactus, hop on, and off they sail on their adventure.  They bob on the waves and dream about what they'll find.  Soon, though, a storm hits, and they cling desperately to their boat.  When the sea calms down, Hopper is gone.

For anyone who has suddenly and sadly lost someone they love, this is a sad page.  Possibly, for some sensitive kids, it's too sad.

Wilson sails on, searching.  He doesn't care about the destination anymore; he just wants to find his friend.  (Oh what a lesson!  Who cares where you're going if you don't have someone you love beside you?!)  He quizzes every animal he comes across until he finds his friend, who is funnily floating on a balloon.

A reunion!

"I missed you, Wilson."

"I missed you, Hopper."

(Sniff, sniff.)

Bumble Bugs and Elephants by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

Bumble Bugs and Elephants by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

Rating: 2 stars

Really, this book just makes me envious.

Oh to be a proven author, creator of dozens of wonderfully-selling children's books!  What is it like to be SO GOOD that you can write a book about not much at all?  Just a gathering of big animals and small animals?

Don't think there's more to the story.  I just hesitated to type "story" because...there really isn't one.

And please, will someone please tell me what a bumble bug is?

Here are the first pages of the book:

Once upon a time there was a great big bumble bug
and a tiny little bumble bug
And there was a great big butterfly
and a little tiny butterfly
There was a great big red bird
and a tiny little black bird
And a tiny little turtle
and a great big turtle

The book goes on like this, gathering small and big versions of a species. 

It's a book of opposites, but...neither the prose nor the illustrations engage my kiddos, who are actually pretty easy to impress.  All in all, the only reason I want you to check it out is so that we can be baffled together.

Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems

There is a Bird On Your Head! by Mo Willems (and all the rest of these Elephant and Piggie Books)

Rating: 5 belly-laughing stars

Where have I been?  How did I not know about these books?  I guess these are two very separate questions...while I mean that in relation to this fantastic series, I guess I should quickly explain why I've been silent for these past months: 

I've been busy being pregnant and having a baby!  Our littlest guy, Kiefer, arrived last week.  He's happy and healthy and already has a good reading list under his nonexistent pillow.  Anyway, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, adjusting to a new and wonderful reality with two young ones and one newborn (and a husband and two crazy hounds).

Back to this series!  Enough about life-changing news! 

Lorelei's pal gave this to her for her fourth birthday a few weeks ago, and I was curious about it.  I had picked up one of the books in the series earlier but had not been impressed.  I don't really know why, because it blew my socks off this time!  Lorelei is starting to read--when she wants to, and whatever words she wants to--and these books are super simple.  They are written in conversation style, with text bubbles coming from the lovable elephant and pig. 

What makes this series so stellar is Mo Willems' wit.  He just gets what makes kids giggle!  Take There is a Bird On Your Head!  A bird lands on Elephant's head, and he isn't thrilled about it, but Piggie finds it pretty funny.  Then the bird falls in love, makes a nest, and lays some eggs.  This makes Elephant less happy and Piggie more happy.  Then the eggs hatch!  Elephant politely asks the bird family to move away, which they do.  Onto Piggie's head. Now the roles are reversed, and Elephant chuckles at Piggie's new nest.  Lorelei cracks up every time, and Ben does, too (though part of his laughter is definitely from my-favorite-big-sister-is-laughing-so-I-am-too-though-I-don't-know-what's-funny).

You cannot go wrong with this series!  I want to buy them all for every 4 year-old I know.  I want Mo Willems to write more of them!  They are appropriately hilarious for the age group, and a fun invitation to try to read a word or two.  Check out all of them, like we did last week!

Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley

Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley

Rating: 4 stars

If you're the type who cries at Hallmark commercials, make sure you have a tissue handy when you read this.  It is the true, sweet story of Tarra the elephant (that used to be on Little House in the Prairie) who retired to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.  Tarra was the first of five elephants, but the only one without a best friend.  Until a stray dog, Bella, came into the picture.  They become inseparable, and manage to find each other even after Bella has a strange and life-threatening injury (from which she recovers--whew!). 



Tarra gentle pats Bella with her trunk.

 Lorelei's in the elephant class in her school; we're all about elephants these days.  So I couldn't pass this book up when I found out about it.  The story is told in simple words and there are a ton of photographs to accompany each sentence, especially the heart-warming page when they are reunited after Bella's injury.  It left me wanting a little more story, but the pictures are really what Lorelei and Ben love.  There are a few pages in the back that tell you/your child more about the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, and a portion of the book's profits go towards the sanctuary.

In all, a good book for a good cause.  Worth checking out, if not buying!

Elephants Can Paint, Too! by Katya Arnold

Elephants Can Paint, Too! by Katya Arnold

Rating: 5 stars

I bought this book without checking it out from the library first.  I knew I would love it.  I knew Lorelei would love it, and I knew Ben would love it.  And, amazingly, I was right about it all! 

Who knew that elephants could paint flowers?!

Why do I love it?  As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand I've traveled to the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand, to see the elephants perform, show off what work they can do, to watch them paint, and to ride them.  It was one of my most memorable tourist activities of my life--riding an elephant made me feel like I was 5--it was so exciting and fun and different!  Plus I was there with my best bud Caitlin, who makes everything hilarious and memorable.  Anyway, I was so excited that a children's book had been written/created to highlight a really neat animal that almost all children think is cool.  I'm always on the prowl for nonfiction books, and this one was a well-timed find.

Why does Lorelei love it?  Lorelei starts preschool in just about a week.  She's ready.  I'm ready (mostly).  Last week she received a letter from her teacher, who introduced herself and told her a little bit about herself and what Lorelei should expect in the upcoming school year.  The letter was so thoughtful and unnecessary--and it was written in such an appropriate tone--I just felt like it assumed Lorelei was an intelligent, thoughtful little girl capable of great things.  I know, I read into it a bit.  Well, it turns out that Lorelei is in the elephant class at school!  So I just had to buy this book.  Lorelei loves it and is excited to show it to her teacher when she first meets her.

Ben loves this picture of the author.

Why does Ben love it?  The book is written so well--it is a simple little story for kids Ben's age, with parallel lines for Katya Arnold's two different lives: in one she teaches little humans in Brooklyn, in the other she teaches big elephants in Thailand.  Some eat grass, some eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but they all love cookies.  And all of her students love art class.  She shows how each student holds a paintbrush (some with fingers, some with their trunk).  In addition to this simple story, there are inserts with tons of interesting facts about elephants, which are great for older kids like Lorelei.

I'm so happy this book will stay on our shelves and not have to be returned to the library next week!

Ella Takes the Cake by Carmelo D'Amico

Ella Takes the Cake by Carmela D'Amico, illustrated by Steve D'Amico

Rating: 5 stars--maybe 6!

This is the third book in a wonderful series by a Seattle-based husband and wife team about a shy little elephant named Ella.  If you're looking for a gift for a three- or four-year old little girl, get these!  Just buy the whole set and you'll provide them with beautiful pictures, sweet stories, and important lessons. 

This particular Ella book, Ella Takes the Cake, is the favorite of one of Lorelei's little friends, Ella--the girl, not the elephant.  Ella the girl has good taste!  In this book, it's summer vacation and Ella really wants to help out in her mother's bakery.  Her mother keeps her from helping as much as she wants to--the oven is too hot, the knife is too sharp--but finally the delivery elephant forgets to pick up the most important cake, and Ella offers to deliver it by herself.

Here are things that make this book SO RIGHT:

• The to-be-delivered cake is gorgeous and enormous, yet Ella is willing to give it a shot.  (Go, Ella!  Dream big!)
• Her mother says yes--she trusts her little daughter with a big task.  (We should all do this!  Let's start a trend to actually have enough faith in our kids to let them do Big Things, even if it scares us a little.)
• Ella takes some detours, yes, but they are sweet and responsible ones, like taking a stack of books to the library for an older elephant.  (The day after we read this book, I found myself offering to return library books for our neighbor, who was going on vacation.)
• She catches up with the delivery man, who offers to "take the cake from here" to its final destination, but Ella sweetly says, "I'd like to finish what I started."  (Oh, to have that sentence come out of every child's mouth!)
• The recipient of the cake is impressed, and Ella returns home, very proud of herself.  And her mother is almost as proud of her.  (There's something about accomplishing a goal that seemed unreachable at some point--that's what I like about distance running.)
• The last line: "That's what Ella likes to do best...be a good helper."  (I realize this might be sickeningly sweet to some, but I much prefer something like this than a witty-sarcastic line.  There will be enough of those in the teenage years...)

These are quality stories.  But I'm not done yet--just a few more sentences!  The artwork in them is just beautiful.  This one is by far my favorite because the illustrations begin even before the title page--the front and back inner cover is a map of the mysterious Elephant Islands.  Lorelei likes to trace the route that Ella takes to the lighthouse, then back again. (That's what she's doing in the picture.)

This is a really terrific series--not one to miss!

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Rating: 5 blind stars

This is a different type of children's book.  It's a book-turned-guessing game, and your kids play along with the seven sight-impaired mice, who are trying to figure out what animal is near the watering hole. 

One at a time, each mouse scurries around one part of the animal--on Monday, its toe; on Tuesday, its trunk; on Wednesday, its tusk, and so on.  And then they guess what it is.  Monday's mouse thinks it is a pillar while Tuesday's mouse is sure it's a snake but Wednesday's mouse believes it is a spear.  The final mouse scurries along each and every part and declares, along with your kids: An elephant!  The book doesn't end there.  An additional page states: the morale of the story: "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole."  What fine advice!

Ben and Lorelei have enjoyed this book, and it's a great book to read aloud.  It helps that I am a ham; my hand became the mouse and I "scurried" up and down Lorelei and Ben's arms and legs and heads and made guesses about what I was touching each time, with my eyes closed, of course.  It's a good book to read because there are so many ways to use it to make hypotheses, predictions, and guesses.  It also could be an example of how to write a fable, something that I'm sure is a required activity in grade school...maybe second grade?  It also teaches the days of the weeks and ordinal counting, so there's a lot of information within the pages of this book.

I also have to brag here: this is the only book I've ever read in Thai.  My reading is not so good, probably because the language is fun to speak but a bear to read and write.  I can do it, but...as you can see children's books are all that I got through!

Elmer and Rose by David McKee

Elmer and Rose by David McKee

Rating: 4.5 stars

This book will always make me think of Julia.  Julia is my friend's blue-eyed daughter who seems to be constantly smiling or laughing.  She's about two years older than Lorelei, so whenever I'm lucky enough to cross paths with Julia I feel like I get a sneak peek at what sort of girl Lorelei will be in two years, if I'm lucky.

Julia (and her mom and older brother) came over to our house for a playdate a few weeks ago.  In between some serious splashing in the hot summer sun and getting crumbs everywhere while eating blueberry bar, we managed to squeeze in some reading.  (What a good sign of a child's attention span when they can stop and concentrate on a book while there are seven children running around!)  I was reading a few books to my twin nieces and Lorelei when Julia shyly asked her mother something, who then encouraged Julia to come to me and ask.

"May I read you a book?" asked the sweet Julia.

WOAH!  I forgot that, at some point, kids can actually read themselves!  I know that this is the end result, but since our oldest is three, I'm still a very necessary part of the book reading activity.  But of course, I said yes and sat and listened to 4 1/2 year old Julia read Elmer and Rose.  I admit that I am pretty easily amused and impressed and satisfied in this world, but...I was deeply impressed when the tables turned and I was fortunate to listen to Julia read this book, an extension of the original Elmer, in her wonderful young voice.  As the other six kids ran around, mostly loudly, Julia and I sat.  And read.  I got to be the listener.  What a treat!

I do have to write a few sentences about the book.  It's good!  It is as if David McKee realized that all his books had lots of boys--good boy characters, ones we love like Wilbur and Kangaroo--and needed to gain the little girl's vote out there.  So what did he do?  Create a pink girl elephant!  Rose the pink elephant gets lost and Elmer and Wilbur help her find her way back to her all-pink herd.  The morale of this book is that everyone is unique, something that is a nicely illustrated with a funny patchwork elephant and now a pink one.

Definitely one to check out, even if you're not lucky enough to have Julia read it to you!

Elmer by David McKee

Elmer by David McKee

Lorelei's rating: 5 stars!

What a gem, what a gem! My neighbor happened to be at the library with us and happened to be standing next to the "M" section. She knows of my crazy quest for great books and pulled out this one. It is one of her go-to gift books for a newborn, and I know why. (In the picture, Lorelei follows the words with her fingers as she reads it in her pajamas while we're at the beach.)

Elmer is a patchwork elephant in a herd of regular, plain-old "elephant-color" elephants. The other elephants love him for his uniqueness, but he sees himself as odd and different. Which of course he is. So he tries to make himself just like everyone else, and therefore takes away all his uniquness and coolness. And as soon as he realizes what he's done, he plays the best joke of his life on the rest of the herd.

Ben's favorite animal is definitely an elephant right now; he practices how to trumpet like an elephant all day long, and often calms himself before going to sleep by blowing through his lips in his one elephant way again and again and again and again until he's asleep. So he especially appreciates all the elephants in the book; several pages are just big pictures of a herd of elephants, to show how different Elmer the patchwork elephant is.

As of today (late March 2010) I think this is my favorite book of all!