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Elephantantrum!
There's tears and tantrums in this humorous picture book about manners when Ellie is tired of playing with her toys.
Ellie has everything, but she wants more. She wants an elephant. And she won't eat or sleep or brush her hair until she gets one! But when she finally gets her wish, the elephant decides to teach Ellie a thing or two about manners!
Ellie has everything, but she wants more. She wants an elephant. And she won't eat or sleep or brush her hair until she gets one! But when she finally gets her wish, the elephant decides to teach Ellie a thing or two about manners!
33 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2012
51 people want to read
About the author
Gillian Shields
59 books539 followersGillian Shields was born and brought up in Yorkshire, in the north of England. As she grew up, she had two passions:books and theater. Gillian’s love of books led her to read English at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. After university she studied acting in London. She then taught in a drama school, the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, for several years, becoming Vice Principal. She recently taught English and Drama at Beechwood Sacred Heart, a girls’ boarding school.
Having children gave Gillian an excuse to carry on reading children’s books, as well as a motivation to write them. She has a son and a daughter, and is married to Brian, who works for the New York Times Media Group.
Hobbies, Interests, and Enthusiasms
I am currently learning Italian (or trying to!) and have a secret fantasy about going to live on the beautiful island of Sicily one day, and having a little stone house with a lemon tree in the garden, and a view of the blue, blue sea! I am lucky, though, because I do live in a fantastic part of England, full of soft green fields and rolling hills and cottages that date back four hundred years.
I like to go for long walks and see the changes that the seasons bring, and I try to imagine how it all must have been years and years ago, and how the people lived. I was brought up in the north of England which is much more rugged and wild—the backdrop to Immortal.
I also enjoy being in the city—although I wouldn't want to live there all the time, it's fun to go window shopping or to big new exhibitions or shows, or just hang out in a coffee shop with a cappuccino and a notebook and watch the busy world go by.
Something I enjoy is painting. I have taken quite a few art classes and find it very creative to work with paint and charcoal and images instead of words, though somehow I can't help adding bits of poetry and scraps of words into my paintings, too… When I was at school, I was completely obsessed by the Pre-Raphaelites, and I love the way their art is so intertwined with poetry and stories. My best friend is an artist and she is incredibly inspiring to me.
I hate cooking but love the idea of being a good cook and welcoming all my friends and family to delicious meals. So I have lots of beautiful cookery books but I never get past the first couple of recipes. Every so often I get madly enthusiastic all over again, but it doesn't last.
When I am writing, I can't listen to music—I find it too distracting, but I love to listen to the radio when I am driving. I listen to pop music in the morning and classical music in the afternoon. That just seems right somehow. My son is really into music, so I enjoy sharing his enthusiasms. At the moment we are listening to Eminem, Akon, NDubz, Chipmunk, Kanye West, plus Greenday, Michael Jackson…the list goes on. My current absolute favorite is Paolo Nutini.
Another interest I have is this amazing charity called The Smile Train which carries out operations for disadvantaged children born with harelip/cleft palate. Sometimes I feel I don't realize how lucky I am, and so it's good to try and do something to help a child on the other side of the world who isn't so lucky. My family also tries to support Sightsavers International, who do simple cataract operations to restore the sight of hundreds of people in the developing world.
On a more self-indulgent note, I love to get to the theater whenever I can, and to the ballet, which I adore. In another fantasy life I would definitely be a ballerina!
I can't imagine getting through a day without reading or writing. I know it sounds a complete cliche, but there it is. I go to a writers' workshop once a week to meet other writers and exchange ideas and read work in progress, and that is hugely important to me. And every spare minute of the time at home I am reading, reading, reading…What would we do without stories?
Education
St Catharine's College, Cambridge University (MA in Englis
Having children gave Gillian an excuse to carry on reading children’s books, as well as a motivation to write them. She has a son and a daughter, and is married to Brian, who works for the New York Times Media Group.
Hobbies, Interests, and Enthusiasms
I am currently learning Italian (or trying to!) and have a secret fantasy about going to live on the beautiful island of Sicily one day, and having a little stone house with a lemon tree in the garden, and a view of the blue, blue sea! I am lucky, though, because I do live in a fantastic part of England, full of soft green fields and rolling hills and cottages that date back four hundred years.
I like to go for long walks and see the changes that the seasons bring, and I try to imagine how it all must have been years and years ago, and how the people lived. I was brought up in the north of England which is much more rugged and wild—the backdrop to Immortal.
I also enjoy being in the city—although I wouldn't want to live there all the time, it's fun to go window shopping or to big new exhibitions or shows, or just hang out in a coffee shop with a cappuccino and a notebook and watch the busy world go by.
Something I enjoy is painting. I have taken quite a few art classes and find it very creative to work with paint and charcoal and images instead of words, though somehow I can't help adding bits of poetry and scraps of words into my paintings, too… When I was at school, I was completely obsessed by the Pre-Raphaelites, and I love the way their art is so intertwined with poetry and stories. My best friend is an artist and she is incredibly inspiring to me.
I hate cooking but love the idea of being a good cook and welcoming all my friends and family to delicious meals. So I have lots of beautiful cookery books but I never get past the first couple of recipes. Every so often I get madly enthusiastic all over again, but it doesn't last.
When I am writing, I can't listen to music—I find it too distracting, but I love to listen to the radio when I am driving. I listen to pop music in the morning and classical music in the afternoon. That just seems right somehow. My son is really into music, so I enjoy sharing his enthusiasms. At the moment we are listening to Eminem, Akon, NDubz, Chipmunk, Kanye West, plus Greenday, Michael Jackson…the list goes on. My current absolute favorite is Paolo Nutini.
Another interest I have is this amazing charity called The Smile Train which carries out operations for disadvantaged children born with harelip/cleft palate. Sometimes I feel I don't realize how lucky I am, and so it's good to try and do something to help a child on the other side of the world who isn't so lucky. My family also tries to support Sightsavers International, who do simple cataract operations to restore the sight of hundreds of people in the developing world.
On a more self-indulgent note, I love to get to the theater whenever I can, and to the ballet, which I adore. In another fantasy life I would definitely be a ballerina!
I can't imagine getting through a day without reading or writing. I know it sounds a complete cliche, but there it is. I go to a writers' workshop once a week to meet other writers and exchange ideas and read work in progress, and that is hugely important to me. And every spare minute of the time at home I am reading, reading, reading…What would we do without stories?
Education
St Catharine's College, Cambridge University (MA in Englis
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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June 9, 20151.(Show students the cover of the book) “Elephantantrum. Now what do you suppose this book is going to be about?” (Student responses) “Throwing a tantrum is one thing people might try to get what they want. Is that good way to show our manners or to show other people we care about them?” (Student responses) “Well, let’s see what happens to Ellie when she throws a tantrum and gets something she wants.”
2.For my opening for this book, I asked students to predict what the book would be about based on its title. I also asked them to make a connection to the books we’ve previously read and their themes of showing good manners and caring for others. Finally, I raise interest in the topic/theme by telling them that Ellie is going to get what she wants while not giving away the ending that she will actually get what she needs.
3.I chose this book because as I allude in part 2, Ellie does get what she wants, which is an elephant. She gets it by throwing a tantrum and disobeying her father. However, what Ellie really gets is something she “needs,” which is a lesson in saying “please” and “thank you” and taking other people’s feelings into consideration.
2.For my opening for this book, I asked students to predict what the book would be about based on its title. I also asked them to make a connection to the books we’ve previously read and their themes of showing good manners and caring for others. Finally, I raise interest in the topic/theme by telling them that Ellie is going to get what she wants while not giving away the ending that she will actually get what she needs.
3.I chose this book because as I allude in part 2, Ellie does get what she wants, which is an elephant. She gets it by throwing a tantrum and disobeying her father. However, what Ellie really gets is something she “needs,” which is a lesson in saying “please” and “thank you” and taking other people’s feelings into consideration.
November 17, 2017
What a wonderfully charming book that very subtly teaches a good lesson of sharing and getting along with others! To say that Ellie is spoiled is quite an understatement. She's found that she gets her way by pitching tantrums, and this time is no different; her dad relents and gives her the elephant she wished for. However, this elephant proceeds to give this little girl a dose of her own medicine! Sometimes, we only need to witness the faults in others to recognize our own.
March 5, 2017
Fantastic! A great book to read to an entitled 6 year old! ... I bet she'll just want an elephant after this though.
December 8, 2013
What happens to children that get and have everything they've ever wanted? Well, they become spoiled rotten, ungrateful, ill-mannered little booghers! Meet Ellie. She has everything and continues to want more. And on top of that , she's bossy.
She wouldn't eat or sleep or brush her hair.
She wouldn't smile or play or do her homework.
She wouldn't even get out of bed until she got what she wanted.
Her father pleaded with her, but she wouldn't budge until she got an ELEPHANT! He fussed and fretted and made a lot of calls and finally Ellie got her elephant. Ellie made demands to her elephant but he wouldn't budge. As a matter of fact, he took over all her stuff, and Ellie threw a tantrum. The tables had turned. The Elephant had his own agenda.
He wore her best clothes.
He ate her breakfast.
He played with her toys.
And if he didn't get what he wanted he had an enormous ELEPHANTANTRUM!
How will Ellie get back all that she holds so dear?
This lively story with cheery multi-colored pictures and patterns will have little ones giggling and wondering what will happen next. Simple sentences make learning to read fun and easy. Parents and teachers can use this tool to teach manners by showing and discussing with little ones how to treat people the way you want to be treated and to always say please and thank you.
She wouldn't eat or sleep or brush her hair.
She wouldn't smile or play or do her homework.
She wouldn't even get out of bed until she got what she wanted.
Her father pleaded with her, but she wouldn't budge until she got an ELEPHANT! He fussed and fretted and made a lot of calls and finally Ellie got her elephant. Ellie made demands to her elephant but he wouldn't budge. As a matter of fact, he took over all her stuff, and Ellie threw a tantrum. The tables had turned. The Elephant had his own agenda.
He wore her best clothes.
He ate her breakfast.
He played with her toys.
And if he didn't get what he wanted he had an enormous ELEPHANTANTRUM!
How will Ellie get back all that she holds so dear?
This lively story with cheery multi-colored pictures and patterns will have little ones giggling and wondering what will happen next. Simple sentences make learning to read fun and easy. Parents and teachers can use this tool to teach manners by showing and discussing with little ones how to treat people the way you want to be treated and to always say please and thank you.
December 12, 2012
If Ellie doesn't get what she wants she has a tantrum. Ellie wants an elephant and plays up until she gets one. The elephant is no ordinary elephant, and seems more like Ellie than Ellie would have liked; the elephant even has an ELEPHAN-TRUM! The elephant teaches Ellie about behaviour and manners. Loved the colour scheme and the pictures (by Cally Johnson-Isaacs).
June 25, 2014
This is terrific. At first I was like really this child is spoiled rotten what a great message, but it got so much better so quickly. I love that it's short and gets the message across.
The elephant is kind of like Mary Poppins and I'm interested to know if the kids pick up on that.
Great storytime book for attitudes, tantrums, or elephants.
The elephant is kind of like Mary Poppins and I'm interested to know if the kids pick up on that.
Great storytime book for attitudes, tantrums, or elephants.
October 22, 2013
Ellie has everything she ever wanted, except an elephant. Ellie always gets what she wants. Her new elephant acts alot like she does and throws an elephantantrum when things don't go its way. Ellie learns a good lesson about manners and taking turns. Nice pastel illustrations.
January 10, 2014
Great and funny picture book about a very spoiled girl and the elephant who teaches her some manners. Have not tried it out at story time yet but it reads like it would do well in that setting. The illustrations are bright and colorful and fun.
June 12, 2014
ELEPHANTS! This one is a magical, manners-teaching elephant. Ellie learns a lot about sharing and being nice because this elephant decides to act just like her. Cute illustrations and a really cute story, but I feel like I was missing the final page. =\
January 8, 2014
What a cute book! Ellie wants an elephant, but the elephant doesn't want her. The illustrations are graphic and eye popping. Great Read-a-loud.
September 1, 2016
lovely illustrations...
May 28, 2014
Love the illustrations.
June 24, 2014
my preschool buddy loved this and we read it repeatedly. not sure really young kids will get the point that the elephant is being rude to teach the little girl a lesson
February 18, 2016
Fun book about learning to share and not always getting your own way.
November 27, 2014
What an awesome way to teach about sharing!
December 30, 2014
Sharing + Manners
April 19, 2015
Great lesson! I loved the colors the illustrator choose too.
October 24, 2016
This is a cute book about tantrums.
June 28, 2014
Tantrums. Elephantantrums. Great picture book that definitely teaches us an invaluable lesson.
August 14, 2014
Loved it! Cheerful and sweet and funny and also has a great message.
October 21, 2015
What an adorable and colorful way to teach manners!!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews