What To Do If An Elephant Stands On Your Foot

by Michelle Robinson, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

A witty jungle romp for the adventurer in every kid Safari etiquette can be tricky. Fortunately, our trusty narrator can help. Sort of. From what to do if an elephant stands on your foot ("Keep calm. Panicking will only startle it!") to how to escape the attentions of a crocodile ("Well? What are you waiting for? Wave your arms around and shout for help!"), our plucky guide leads our unlucky hero on a jungle adventure, barely avoiding tigers, a rhino, snakes, and--uh-oh. What’s that? Well thank heavens the monkeys are friendly at least! Debut author Michelle Robinson teams with bestseller Peter H. Reynolds for a Monster at the End of This Book-style romp, culminating in a hilarious finish that will send readers--and our hapless hero--right back to the beginning for more.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Humor, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

When I'm not up to my knees in nappies, I write children's books. I also spend a fair amount of time eating chocolate. I try to write funny, read-aloud books that parents will enjoy as much as children - after all, if you have to share the same stories umpteen times, you may as well enjoy them.
I hope you like my books enough to read them umpteen times. Thank you - Michelle.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo was curious about how to handle an odd elephant situation, leading us to choose this book. When an elephant ends up standing on your foot, the first thing to remember is not to panic. That will cause a domino effect that opens up a slew of jungle animals toying with you and your emotions. Even still, it is important to be prepared and this book has all the answers, at least to keep Neo on the ball. He laughed, he pointed, and he scratched his head by the end... but I will let you discover what all that makes total sense.

[Pamela Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What To Do If An Elephant Stands On Your Foot" by Michelle Robinson and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds is a clever picture book slightly similar to "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." Children will enjoy this amusing story just as much as they enjoy the "If You Give..." series.

The story is a chain of events, one leading into the other, and ending in a circle. Children love repetition and will love reading this book over and over, chiming in at the parts they have memorized from all the reading and rereading.

The writing style is conversational and works perfectly for reading the book aloud.

"In the event of startling an elephant, you will probably feel like running away, rather quickly. Try not to! Running may attract tigers." And on the next page, "Told you so."

The illustrations are simple and yet appealing. Colorful but not overwhelming, they support the story but do not detract from it.


Read the whole review at: http://www.examiner.com/review/what-t...

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids will love this. It's quite funny. It reminded me of the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read at the Baylor library and at home.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny series of events happen when a young person goes on a safari adventure and an elephant stands on her foot.

Can be used for a discussion about the consequences of our actions - including consequences that happen from accidents!

[Bhargavi Balachandran · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hoot!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this book hilarious and I used it for an elephant-themed family storytime on 11/7/17. It's a very fun book to read aloud because there is a lot of opportunity for dramatic expression. :)

[Laura McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very silly. Much giggling will ensue.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read-aloud. The helpful narrator tries to advise an unlucky boy about what to do when an elephant steps on his foot, but it all goes awry anyway.

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was funny! I liked shouting, jumping, and waving my arms with the main character. It was neat that there were lots of animals and you had to be careful with each one

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is funny, with some light suspense. A great book to read to younger readers. There are wonderful opportunities for the reader to get animated and add some extra entertainment. The learning focus in the book is about cause and effect. The illustrations in the book are bright, and fun. They are in harmony with the story, and enhance the feel of the book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story that progresses from one bad situation to another in a (sort of) logical sequence. The flow of the book is similar to the books in the If You Give... series by Laura Joffe Numeroff, especially as it comes full-circle.

But I have to admit that what caught our eye and made us want to read the book are the wonderful illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds. We love his illustrations and the characters reminded us of his work on the Judy Moody series.

Overall, it's a fun book to read aloud, although the second person narrative seems a bit awkward at times. And I am not a fan of the name calling. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This funny "how to" derives its comedy from breaking the fourth wall and giving absurd advice, as well as the domino effect of the pages. The writing appeals to kids because the situations are incredulous, and because the story gets out of the narrator's control. The title provides the first domino in a chain. The nameless main character never takes the advice of the omniscient narrator which gets the mc into deeper and deeper trouble. For example, the book advises readers to avoid trees when running from a lion. The mc, naturally running for his (her?) life, finds the nearest safety--a tree. The narrator responds, in that amusing voice, "Oh, okay. If you must." But things go from bad to worse because there are further dangers in the tree! This book has been compared to "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" for its snowballing format and circular ending. While the book may not be ground-breaking, we thoroughly enjoyed it . . . again and again.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book with Adobe Flash an Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet and pen illustrations details exactly what actions to take in order to survive if increasingly dangerous things should happen to you. Thus, the main character goes from bad to worse, fleeing from an elephant stepping on his foot, only to encounter a tiger, and then a rhinoceros. With each animal, cautionary advice is offered about how to avoid trouble. By the time the book closes, it's clear that the narrator should have stayed home where he's be safe from danger. Some young readers might enjoy this title, but reading it aloud felt awkward at points.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book you will find instructions on what to do, or rather not to do, if you ever come face to face with a tiger, or are up a tree filled with snakes or if you ever find your foot trapped under an elephant. The title of this book intrigued me...and my storytime audience loved it. Of course, you should never startle an elephant, but how can you not yell "Yeowww!" when one is standing on your foot? This book invites the kids to become engaged in the story, so my audience helped make animal noises, waved their arms and yelled "Help!" when sitting in a lake surrounded by alligators and were on their feet going nuts with the monkeys. Thoroughly enjoyable read-aloud.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no hope for this young explorer - she does everything wrong! After startling the elephant when it stands on her foot, she proceeds to stir up all of the other animals. Only the monkeys can save her.

The narrator is always one step behind the explorer, who can't seem to help herself. "DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO CLIMB A TREE. Oh, for goodness' sake! Go ahead, then, if you must - but don't say I didn't warn you!" Funny and suspenseful - kids will be giggling as they wonder what idiot thing the protagonist will do next.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is entertaining and funny. The book overall is an advice of what to do (or what not to do) in the jungle. The content might be more understandable towards a general storytime audience. However, the preschool kids during storytime, enjoyed the illustrations and the many pages of crocodiles (or in this groups' particular mind, alligators).

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A child safari guide tries to offer good advice to help the readers safely enjoy a visit in the jungle only, the guide struggles to follow their own advice and the visit goes from silly to wild the help of jungle animals.

The illustrations are detailed and hilarious. The text is written as if the guide is speaking directly to you, nice touch. Great book for a read aloud.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The timing and page breaks of this book make it a lot of fun. I imagine this would work wonderfully well with a younger audience in a reading circle. Reynolds's illustrations are--as always--the bonus of the book.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. A really quite funny book where the narrator is addressing the main character and he/she is responding (the protagonist could easily be either a boy or a girl). It's funny and silly and the kids get a kick out of it. A definite storytime book.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me of "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" but in a way that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out.

[Lily Frey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is super cute! It is a guide of what to do if certain things happen to you in the jungle, starting off by what to do if an elephant stands on your foot. This book is humorous and I think children would enjoy seeing what to do if these crazy things happened to you if you were in the jungle surrounded by all the animals. The illustrations are cute and funny and although there is no true lesson in the book, children would definitely get a good laugh out of this book by reading and looking at the awesome illustrations!

[Brynnley Hunzeker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very adorable! It serves as a guide on what to do if certain occurrences in the jungle occur to you, beginning with what to do if an elephant steps on your foot. The comedy in this book makes me believe that kids would appreciate learning what to do if these odd things happened to them while they were in the jungle with all the animals. While there isn't a real lesson in the book, the graphics are adorable and hilarious, and kids would definitely enjoy reading this book and gazing at the fantastic illustrations.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the anti If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. It was actually funny and a little bit cool. It was a nice escape from reality for a few minutes.

Only thing that would've improved it was to change the tiger to a lion or leopard. All the other animals were African, and there aren't any tigers in Africa.

Am interested in checking out more books illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.

By the way, kids, you won't have to worry about what to do if an elephant REALLY stands on your foot. You're sure to pass out from the pain to worry about safari etiquette. Sleep tight.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are wild animals everywhere, and you have to be careful because doing the wrong thing is sure to upset them. You can always learn, though, right?

This silly book reminds me just a bit of the If You Give a Moose a Muffin books with its constant cause and effect. It got a bit too silly for my tastes, but it's a clever concept with amusing illustrations, making it a fun readaloud book for elephant lovers everywhere.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my kids ages (1 and 4 at the time) based on the title and cover, I did not know anything else about it. I am glad I bought it, this book as become a regular read book during story time. Over the past couple years I have read it countless times. Now with my kids being ages 3 and 6 they still ask for this book at bedtime.

[Sam DuBois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a big chain reaction. So when one thing happened, it caused something else and so on. Young children would like this kind of repetition. They will continue to read it over and over. It does contain some more difficult words so if they are a beginner, this may not be the book for them. I would say more or 1st or 2nd grade this book would be appropriate.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations and the page breaks make the action stop and have you guess what is next and then... turning the page and finding out the next calamity. This is very funny and should get some great laughs from your kiddos.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kids book that isnt sensical or rhymey or particularly clever or funny despite trying to be. The animals the explorer runs into have no rhyme or reason, doesnt teach any facts about animals, and is just not that interesting or funny to read despite trying to be. Nice art but garbage kids book imo.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hapless adventurer keeps running into animal troubles. Fortunately they have a helpful narrator!

Lots of funny occurrences, though not very accurate survival information. The saving grace is the reminder to have good manners.

No content issues, a lot of cartoonish peril.