One day a letter came for the Great Big Elephant from his cousin in Paris.
“I have the mumps,” it said. “Can you come and take my place in the Circus Maximus until I am better?”
The Great Big Elephant ran right over to the Very Small Elephant’s house to tell his best friend the news.
This book, published in 1977, is a sweet tale of friendship. In the first chapter, Great Big Elephant must go to the circus to help his cousin, and Very Small Elephant doesn’t want him to go. But, despite Very Small’s attempts, Great Big leaves to perform in Paris. After only 8 days, Great Big is home. The second chapter is about Very Small’s aunt visiting, and in the third the two elephants play games and meet a grumpy rhinoceros.
I like this book because while it is tender, it’s not a tearjerker. It’s just sweet and simple. And Very Small’s aunt Matilda is a firecracker. Seuling is really experienced in children’s books. She’s not only an author (of over 60 books!) but an illustrator, teacher and editor as well.
You can find The Great Big Elephant and the Very Small Elephant for – really – a mere penny on Amazon. I think it’s lovely and can’t wait until Grady is old enough to sit through the whole book.
Do you have any recommendations for books to highlight in Pretty Pages? Would you like to write a post as a guest? Let me know in the comments!
Sounds like a nice story. I like the illustrations in older books
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