The Magic Of Books

Elmer, written by David Mckee- is an Elephant with rainbow squares arranged as a patchwork. He has a cheerful and optimistic personality, but he was noticeably different to the others; Elmer did not want to be different to the other elephants as they laughed at him, so he tried to make himself ‘elephant colour’ like the others. After hatching a plan and rolling around in berry juice to make himself ‘elephant colour’ Elmer decides that being part of the crowd is too boring and realises that being different isn’t so bad after all. At the end of the story Elmer makes the other elephants laugh like they have never laughed before which makes them decide to have a parade in honour of Elmer and they decorate themselves to become just like him.

The stories are suitable for early exploration of cultural diversity.
Elmer stories are about celebrating difference, and their positive message and cheerful illustrations have deservedly made the colourful elephant a modern classic.