12th August Elephant Day

World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. On August 12, 2012, the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. The elephant is loved, revered and respected by people and cultures around the world, yet we balance on the brink of seeing the last of this magnificent creature.

The theme for Elephant Day 2023 is  Safeguarding Elephant Habitats for a Sustainable Tomorrow

It is quite some time since I last wrote about Elephant Day and the library has some great books about elephants that are worth searching out.

• The Elephants Ears  by Catherine Chambers and Caroline Mockford is the perfect book to explain the difference between Asian and African elephants. It reads like a folktale, but what it explains to the reader is factual and easy to apply to photographs of elephants.

• Elephants  by Steve Bloom is a factual book for the whole family to share. It has amazing photographs with

Other factual books:

• Elephants  by Seymour Simon

• The Truth About Elephants  by Maxwell Eaton III

Books about why elephants need protection:

• Elephants on the Edge  by Charles Hope

• If Elephants Disappeared  by Lily Williams

• What the Elephant Heard by Charlotte Guillain and Sam Usher

Two books that show what can happen to elephants in the wild and the lengths we need to go to ensure they have a good life are:

• One Step at a Time  by Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich

• The Elephant's New Shoe  by Laurel Neme and Ariel Landy

Two books that highlight elephants family structure:

• Grandma Elephant's in Charge by Martin Jenkins and Ivan Bates

• She Leads  by June Smalls and Yumi Shimokawara   

• My Bibi Always Remembers by Toni Buzzeo and Mike Wohnoutka

And of course, there's a myriad of great stories. See Pinterest here.

If you are lacking good nonfiction, you can always revel in elephant series that you have, such as Elmer (David McKee), Babar (Jean De Brunhoff), Elephant and Piggie (Mo Willems), The Large Family (Jill Murphy) or Ella the Elegant Elephant (Carmela D'Amico).

22nd September Elephant Appreciation Day

I can't believe I haven't written about this celebration before. There are just so many wonderful books for young children about elephants or which have elephants as main characters. I have a pinterest page for elephant books so I don't intend to list all of these. Instead as part of my elephant appreciation I have decided to categorise and then tell you my favourites. Here they are!

Picture Book:
My favourite to read to preschoolers is The Elephant and the Bad Baby  by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs. While not really about elephants one of the main characters is an elephant and the children find him a loveable villain.
My favourite picture book about elephants, which also has a loveable main character is Little Elephant, Thunderfoot by Sally Grindley and John Butler.

Novel:
It is a toss up between two, both of which I have had success with reading to classes.
1. Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris
2. Akimbo and the Elephants by Alexander McCall Smith

Non-Fiction:
With amazing photographs: Elephants a Book for Children by Steve Bloom
With illustrations: Grandma Elephant's in Charge by Martin Jenkins and Ivan Bates
This title is part of the wonderful Read and Wonder series which intersperses story with facts.

Folktale:
The Elephants' Ears by Catherine Chambers and Caroline Mockford
This story explains the differences between African and Indian elephants.

Biography/True story:
Queenie: One Elephant's Story by Corinne Fenton and Peter Gouldthorpe
This story is sad, but shows children a problem that may come with keeping wild animals in captivity.

Series:
Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems