All by Myself

by Ivan Bates

Every day Maya's mother picks leaves for breakfast with her long trunk. Then one day Maya decides she wants to pick the leaves-- all by herself! One little elephant plus one tall tree can only mean one big problen. Luckily, Maya's mother thinks she just might have the answer.... A warm and reassuring look at a plucky little elephant who is determined to start growing up.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1999

About the author

Ivan Bates studied illustration at Manchester Polytechnic and has illustrated many books for children, including Just You and Me by Sam McBratney, Do Like A Duck Does! by Judy Hindley, and Five Little Ducks. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Charlotte Bartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading 'All by Myself' by Ivan Bates and would definitely recommend the story to other readers. The book would be most suitable for children in an Early Years classroom. Written in the third person, the story is easy to follow and could be used as part of a whole class shared reading experience. Furthermore, the author has included colourful illustrations documenting Maya's journey throughout the story.
There are a number of multi-sensory elements found in the story. For example, there are key phonic sounds in the following onomatopoeia words: whoosh, swish, hissed, bounced, splashed and dripped, and there is a sense of physical movement when Maya tries to reach the top of the tree with her trunk, 'stretching up as high as she could, swished at the branches above.'

[Erin Buhr]

This is a really sweet book for kids in that stage where they want to do things all by themselves. A little elephant want to get her own breakfast but she just isn’t tall enough to reach. I love the problem solving she attempts and the ultimate sweet conclusion.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute toddler and up book about an elephant who wants to get the leaves off of a tree all by themselves and keeps refusing help from all the other animals.

[Emily Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

All by Myself Is a story about a mother and child elephant finding food in the African Savannah. In the story the baby elephant tries to gain independence by providing their family with food. However, the baby elephant runs into a small problem, which makes getting the leaves from the tree really difficult. This story is full of life lesson, such as gaining independence, learning how to work hard , and how to work together. This is a very sweet book that is good quick read for children. Another part I liked about this book was the illustrations. The illustrator used light colors to go with the plot. The colors relate back to the plot because throughout the story it showed the love between the mother and child relationship. One way I could incorporate this book into my class is teaching my students how to identify the problem and solution in the story.

[Keegan Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The baby elephant in this story wants to get the leaves from the tree herself. Several animals offer to help her but she says she wants to do it "all my myself." Really, she doesn't manage it because the mother elephant lifts her up to get it. I feel like there should be an admission that, yeah, maybe she needed a little help, but instead the book ends saying she did it "all my myself." So that seemed like it didn't match up real well.

[Missy Kirtley]

My daughter wanted to borrow this one from the library, I think, and I was hesitant. What parent of a two-year-old wants to read "All by Myself" over and over again? But the story is cute, and the pictures are cute. My daughter loved to see the lion in the book, and all the other animals. She loves elephants.

The only exception I have to this book is the idea that it could possibly teach children that there's no consequence for being stubborn. We're sending it back to the library.

[Livvie Esslinger]

This book is about a baby elephant who wants to gather her breakfast from a tall tree all by herself. After denying the help of many friends, she finally is satisfied when her mom lifts her up high, so that she can get it herself.

This is a cute tale, and adorable illustrations. It would be really useful in a pre-K or kindergarten classroom.

This book could help in reminding a child that sometimes it is good to accept help from others, and that sometimes we need help.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, people, we apparently need a little review of what "all by herself" means. If the leaves are too high for the little elephant to reach and the mother elephant needs to pick her up and lift her so she can reach, that is NOT "all by herself" - are we clear, now? This stupidity totally undermines everything.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture Book. A book about a little elephant who wants to get leaves from a tree without any help. Finally, her mother helps her, and they enjoy their breakfast.

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite children's books. The baby elephant finally succeeds in getting leaves from the tree "all by herself"...with some hoisting from a parent.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behind the overused title is a charmingly illustrated, rather good picture book.

[Little Champs]

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