Tweak Tweak

by Eve Bunting, Sergio Ruzzier (Illustrator)

Little Elephant and Mama Elephant are going for a walk. “Hold on to my tail,” says Mama. “If you want to ask me a question, tweak twice.” Tweak, tweak! “Mama, what is that?” Little Elephant is curious about the frog, the monkey, the songbird, the butterfly, and the crocodile—and especially about what a little elephant can do. Mama knows just how to answer, to help her cherished Little Elephant grow. Eve Bunting’s tender text and Sergio Ruzzier’s whimsical illustrations make this walk with Mama an excursion any little elephant would enjoy.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Birds

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 2011

About the author

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eve Bunting can do sweet without going saccharine. Little Elephant "tweak tweak"s Mama's tail and asks her questions about the world, and Mama gives her satisfying answers--not always what she wants, but more suitable alternatives. Some good parenting going on here and a lovely mother/child relationship that young readers can identify with. Art has tons of child appeal--the bit where Little Elephant imagines herself singing is especially funny. Always nice to shelve a book knowing that it's been funds well spent!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea, with the little elephant following the mom, holding onto her tail and tugging it ("Tweak, tweak!") when it had to ask a question (which was, of course, often) but I'm not sure it was as charming as I had hoped for and the "message" seemed a bit forced. Maybe I just built it up too much waiting all this time, and the cover sure is adorable ;-) I love elephants! Worth a read if you have some elephant fans, or fans of other African animals, in your house.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of a mother encouraging her child by emphasizing what the child can do. Little Elephant and Mama Elephant are going for a walk. Mama Elephant tells Little Elephant to hold on to her tail and if she wants to ask a question to tweak the tail twice. Little Elephant sees many things - a jumping frog, a monkey in an acacia tree, a crocodile in a river, a butterfly. When she tweaks Mama Elephant's tail to ask, "Mama? What is that?" her mama replies with the name of the animal and what it is doing. When Little Elephant asks her follow-up question, whether she can do that, Mama replies that Little Elephant can't jump or climb an acacia tree or fly high in the sky, but Little Elephant can stomp her foot or scratch her back on an acacia tree or wave her ears back and forth like big butterfly wings. The softly-colored, cheerful illustrations help to convey the closeness of this mother and child. Depending on the child and the child's mood, this can be a good book to snuggle up with, or a book that encourages activity. Can you stomp your foot? Can you trumpet like an elephant?

[Ardea Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title / Author / Publication Date: Tweak Tweak/Eve Bunting/2011

Genre: Fiction, Picture Book

Format: Hardcover

Plot summary: While out for a walk, Mama Elephant answers her child's questions about a monkey, a frog, a songbird, a butterfly, and a crocodile, all the while teaching about Little Elephant too.

Considerations or precautions for readers advisory: None.

Review citation: Parravano, M. V. (2011). Tweak Tweak (Book Review). Horn Book Magazine, 87(3), 70-71.

Section source used to find the material: Children's Core Collection, Most Highly Recommended

Recommended age: 4 and up

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun readaloud this made for preschool storytime today, with repeating lines "tweak, tweak" and all the other animals that baby elephant sees on his walk with his mama. Children enjoyed seeing their roles reversed at the end of the book. Nicely illustrated.

[Laura Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Spare text. Accepting who you are and what your skills are. Nice use of setting, too. 461 words

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable!

[Danielle Mootz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little elephant is trying to find himself. through observation of other creatures his mama teaches him about elephants.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elephant and her baby take a stroll. Baby is very curious. The summary statement is sweet, "A little elephant can walk through the jungle and across the grasslands holding her mother's tail. She can ask questions and learn. She can grow to be a big, strong, smart, beautiful elephant."
I have always been amazed by the body of work that Eve Bunting has contributed to children's literature. This Irish woman who transplanted to California and became an author passed away on October 1, 2023 at the age of 94. My top two favorites by her are THE WEDNESDAY SURPRISE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DUCK.
We miss you Eve Bunting. Thanks for all of your stories.

There are several key factors to her writing that I see:
*compassion *humor *a reverence for the ordinary moments *respect for nature *the willingness to tackle very tough subjects *offering solutions *everything presents a story!
*Eve was assigned a different illustrator for each of her books. Miraculously, each match fits perfectly.

[Riah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, simple story with LOTS to offer. This is a fabulous PreK/Kindergarten level book (to read aloud to a child) with lots of levels of language. It has excellent sequencing, actions, parent relationship, quick character development, confidence building, Animal knowledge (habitat and sounds/ activities). My toddler and I enjoyed acting this out with figurines!

[Rosa Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a charming love story between a baby elephant and her Mama. The baby is curious about the world around her and as her Mama 'teaches' her she also reminds her of who SHE is and that she's just as special as the others around her they see. This would be a great gift to give to a newborn and or as a birthday gift.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet read-aloud, best done with 2 voices for mama and the little girl elephant. The kids will love to do the tweak tweak sound each time the little elephant pulls on her mother's tail.

Talks about other animals the elephants encounter (frogs, monkeys, crocodiles, birds, and butterflies) and what they can do and what elephants can do.

[Julia Adams]

This book is great for ages 5 and seven and have a Lexile level of AD440L. Hornbook review: "The pace of the book is gentle and repetitive and Ruzzier’s illustrations invite the reader to slow down and enjoy this walk. The humorous touches are accompanied by repeated hand-lettered sound effects that are sure to delight."

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old-fashioned, in the best way. I fully expected to learn that this is a reissue with a modern illustrator, but no. If you miss the older Golden Books, p'raps for example Eloise Wilkin, you'll probably like this.

Otoh, not all that special, & rather forgettable. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always do what you're best at, is Bunting's advice for the little elephant. "Do you know the way back, my little elephant?" "Yes, Mama. I remember." Children should be shouting "Tweak! Tweak!" while having this book read. Ruzzio's watercolors use some interesting, engaging colors.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan
Too negative

[Mely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a curious little elephant.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mama elephant and her baby go on a walk, and the baby tweaks her mother's tail twice whenever she wants to know something.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

CUTE book--both the story and the Sergio Ruzzier illustrations.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found in L4L Volume 5

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a world where parents are often portrayed as clueless this story shows a parent who is invested and wise. In a world where children often ignore their parents advice or don't reach out to parents with questions. Here you have a child who brings issues to his mom, who listens to her advice and who is HAPPY for it. In a world where many wish for gifts or talents of others and spend so much of their time trying to pursue or even fake what they don't have instead of developing the unique gifts they were given, this book shows that their is no shame in having limitations and that we can celebrate the abilities that we do have.

Talking points - Are their gifts that you admire? What can you do to develop them? What do you think are the unique gifts you were blessed with? Let me tell you some? Do you think people who have been through something before are good guides? - Like a person who has hiked a trail before, or successfully make a recipe before? Parents have gone through already many of the same things you will go through. When do you feel grumpy with your parents? When do you feel especially close to them parents? What have you learned from your parents.

[English 212 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this! i think the message in this book was so beautiful and the illustrations were lovely as well! The pictures extended the entire page and had wonderful coloring, bright but muted at the same time. This story is that of a mother and baby and the mother is encouraging the baby to ask questions but to do it the right way she must tweak tweak before asking, much like a child learning to raise a hand in a classroom before speaking. This also shows how good it is to ask questions and how much you can learn from doing so! I also loved that instead of telling her that the baby could not do something she said that instead she could doing something else more fitting to herself. I love the message in this because i think it is telling you to be who you are and do things your own way. It also shows how much a mother can be a role model. At the end the mother lets the baby lead her back, and i think that is wonderful, because it is showing the reader that if they learn and pay attention, one day they too will be able to do all those things on their own and they will be as wonderful at it as their role models and mentors. I think sometimes kids are afraid to ask questions and this book makes it a good thing to do and i am so glad that kids can see that asking questions should be a fun learning experience. I would use this as a read aloud, and i think this is appropriate for the age. This books message is good for any child, but the wording is not too hard that it could not be read alone for a beginning reader.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: PB14

A beautiful story of a mom and her baby learning about the world around them in a fun way. I loved the writing in this story as it is very simple and easy to read and allows the reader to follow along with the story easily. The illustrations are wonderfully done and all the animals in this story are drawn in a beautiful way. I enjoyed the baby elephants questions to his mom as they walked. The baby elephant pulls the momma's tail to tweak teak when the baby has a questions to ask is precious. Readers will love following along with baby elephant by making the tweak tweak sound with his mom's tail before he asks each question and learning along with baby elephant during their walk. Great way to show young readers it is ok to ask questions and that when you do ask questions you cna learn more about the world around you when you do.

Three words to describe this book: Fun, learning, cute

[Julia Jasztal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy's review from 9/30/11 -


2.5 - Bunting is another author I tend to swing both ways about. Much like Jane Yolen but not to the same degree. I loved the illustrations and everything about them. Sergio Ruzzier is one of my new favorite illustrators of all-time. I just wanted to keep looking and looking at these colors even though the story, IMO, wasn't all that great.
Julia liked it which is what is most important. I felt it was more tedious than it needed to be. What's with the "tweaking"? And why do all the questions have to be almost identical? How about switching it up a bit? Giving the kids something to think about once in awhile?
Maybe I'm being too hard on the book. It's not bad but it's not great. I'd recommend it to kids younger than Julia who just turned 6. I'd maybe recommend it for kids about 3 or so? I don't know.
But the illustrations really are beautiful. I'd rate this a 5 for that alone if I could separate the two.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children have a lot of questions, and who better to answer those questions than a parent? Mama elephant walks with her child and whenever Little Elephant has a question, she "tweaks" her mother's tail twice. "Tweak, Tweak." Little Elephant asks about the monkeys, the crocodile, and the bird in the tree, but what Little Elephant is most curious about is what she can do. She may not be able to jump, but she can stomp. She may not be able to fly, but she can wave her ears like a butterfly. This endearing tale tells about a mother who not only answers her child's question with patience and sincerity, but also encourages her child in every endeavor. The precious, pastel illustrations add a whimsical quality to the text, and the ending, though predictable, simply touches the heart.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tweak Tweak is a nominee for the 2012-13 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

This is a charming book that I think would be perfect for a bedtime read, particularly with a mother and child. I also think this book is great for kindergarten and 1st grade read-alouds, especially when they are learning about animals. They could have tons of fun imagining animals doing things that they might not normally do. The illustrations are sweet and gentle and give readers the feeling of happiness.

I will admit that I was a bit put off by the title. (I used to work with high school students, and the word "tweak" means something a little different to them.)

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots to love about this picture book. It is a nice story about imagination and dreams grounded with a "be yourself" theme. I love the mother/child relationship, very supportive and appreciative of a child's sometimes out there imagination. It reminded me of The Queen of France but with elephants! Illustrations are great, especially the elephant swimming upstream past the surprised fish.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not to be confused with "Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines."

Baby Elephant asks Mama Elephant a billion questions about his/her identity, which Mama patiently answers, explaining Baby Elephant's limitations without causing him to feel inferior.

Lest you think this is just "Are you my mother" but with the mother, the book also teaches, "A little elephant can walk through the jungle and across the grasslands holding her mother's tail. She can ask questions and learn. She can grow to be a big, strong, smart, beautiful elephant." Awwww.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Elephant holds her mothers's tails as they explore their world. Along the way, Little Elephant asks if she can jump, climb the acacia, or swim. Her mother offers alternatives and lets Little Elephant explore the world. The ending is especially encouraging -- the Mama elephant gives reassuring and hopeful words before the two head home.

A bit too sweet and simple for K-5 students. Preschool students will probably like this and get much more out of it. Also a good bedtime book!

[Isabel Bozada-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB 32. Although the pictures in this book were quite juvenile, I enjoyed in very much. I really love books that have really strong or endearing child/adult bonds. I loved the curiosity of the little elephant. If I were to use this in a classroom I think I would have the kids write a story of things that humans don't do and have them draw pictures. It would be light, and I'm sure it would get a little bit ridiculous.