But it wasn't just the artwork that made me love this book. I loved the character of Elmer, and the story. The message is one I thoroughly believe in. Elmer, being patchwork, is totally different from the other elephants. He's also different in personality - he's jolly, fun, mischievous, and makes them laugh. But he gets a bit self-conscious about the fact that he looks different, so he disguises himself by rubbing himself witih elephant-coloured berries. You can guess the gist of what's coming, of course - but this isn't your usual, ruggedly individualistic 'Be yourself and screw everyone else!' moral. It's not so much about Elmer, but about the whole herd. The point is that the other elephants become sad - they don't recognise Elmer and the atmosphere of the whole herd changes at not having Elmer there. They become quiet and sombre, and are delighted to find him again, when he reveals himself first through his personality, then from the rain washing off the berry juice. Elmer doesn’t need to tell others what to do, he just lives the way he sees fit and others are inspired by his example. Because Elmer learns to embrace his patchwork, all of the other elephants decide to paint themselves multi-coloured once a year and celebrate a carnival of colour! Do you ever do things with your friends only they want to do? Do they do things with you only you want to do? Unfortunately, Elmer thinks that maybe the other elephants are laughing at him – for being different – instead of laughing with him – for being funny and loveable.

Planning an English lesson about Elmer the Elephant? You can find all the activities you need to keep your pupils entertained right here. If you'd like some ideas to get you started, then look no further: Visual Closure is the ability to fill in parts of a form in the mind’s eye to determine shape or a whole object. Filling in the missing parts of our Elmer works on this area.The Elmer books have been translated into more than 50 languages and there are now Elmer the elephant toys, clothes and even fairground rides across the world. Make alliterative sentences involving types of animals, e.g. an extraordinarily excited elephant, a long lazy lion.

So every year, on the day of the parade, “if you happen to see an elephant ordinary elephant colour, you will know it must be Elmer.” Obviamente el libro trata temas como la diversidad y la aceptación. Me ha gustado que desde el principio si bien Elmer era diferente, todos lo querían tal como era y él mismo se aceptaba. Esto es importante ya que la mayoría de las historias que hablan sobre el tema nos dibujan un entorno donde el personaje, de entrada no es aceptado y quizá para los mas pequeños no es la mejor manera de abordarles el problema.

Elmer is the story of an elephant that is noticeably different to the others; he is a brightly coloured patchwork elephant. However 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. Questions for Philosophical Discussion » Summary Elmer explores questions like “How do differences impact friendships?” and “Must we fulfill our social roles and obligations?” In the book, the elephants only laugh when Elmer is around; in a sense, they rely upon him. It’s unclear, however, if Elmer is obligated to fulfill this specific role of the jokester. Some argue that the assumption of obligation relies upon some sort of contract or promise. A police officer, for example, swears to serve their community. Though Elmer did not agree to entertain the other elephants, it would be fruitful to explore the relationship between promises and obligation. If Elmer had promised to be the community jokester but then realized he really didn’t want to, or even couldn’t, would it be OK for him to stop? Questions for Philosophical Discussion Differences and Friendship