What Elephant? [Hardcover]

Kindergarten-Grade 5–Help! Help! There's an elephant in my house! cries George as he runs down the street. This pronouncement is greeted with skepticism and giggles from his neighbors. Reluctantly agreeing that he must be dreaming, he returns home to find that the not-so-imaginary visitor is asleep on the bed and, during the next few days, it proceeds to take over the house. George, who would rather believe his friends than his own eyes, suffers in silence. Eventually, they come to visit, and although no one can fail to notice the enormous pachyderm sunbathing in the yard, each of them refuses to admit it for fear of being ridiculed. The truth is revealed when the elephant's trainer spots his beloved Shiraz and explains that the animal had run away from the circus. George feels much better knowing that he is not nuts after all, and his best friend apologizes for not believing him. And yet, when a pink poodle carrying a suitcase wanders by asking for directions to the train station.... The scribbly, mixed-media artwork suits this deceptively simple story perfectly. Children will be amused by the elephant, drawn far out of proportion to its surroundings. This thoughtful allegory can be an excellent starting point for discussions of fact versus fiction, faith and trust, and self-confidence versus peer pressure.–Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
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C?té’s gentle message is put across with appealing wit. (New York Times )

This thoughtful allegory can be an excellent starting point for discussions of fact versus fiction, faith and trust, and self-confidence versus peer pressure. (School Library Journal )

George comes home one day to find an elephant watching TV and eating chocolate chip cookies in his living room. When he tells his friends, they say it's impossible: George must be seeing things. But the next day, and the day after that, his large and uninvited guest remains and makes itself even more at home -- with disastrous results. (Elephants should NEVER sit on couches.) Is George dreaming or just plain crazy?? Before long, his friends see the elephant as well. Or do they? SURELY they too aren't going crazy like poor George? So no one says a single word about the gigantic creature lounging in the flowerbed ? until something happens that finally breaks this very awkward silence. With delightful text and charming illustrations, Genevi?ve C?t? tells the silly and whimsical tale of an elephant that is seen ? but is not necessarily believed!

Geneviève C?té is a Montreal artist whose illustrations have graced the pages of publications such as the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Her books have received three nominations for the Governor General's Award for Illustration, one of which went on to win, and she has also won the the Elisabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award.