The Obvious Elephant

by Bruce Robinson, Sophie Windham (Illustrator)

An elephant wanders into a village-announced and unexpected-but no one has seen an elephant before! The villagers attempt to identify this visitor and finally rely upon a professor who runs tests and experiments to determine what Eric, a clever little boy, has been saying all along is true: indeed it is an elephant!

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Bruce Robinson is an English director, screenwriter, novelist and actor. He is arguably most famous for writing and directing the cult classic Withnail and I (1986), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the 1960s, which drew on his experiences as 'a chronic alcoholic and resting actor, living in squalor' in Camden Town. He is married to Sophie Windham, children's author and illustrator, and has contributed to some of her books. A book of interviews with Robinson, edited by Alistair Owen, is published as Smoking in Bed: Conversations with Bruce Robinson

Reviews

[Mia Lofthouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never usually write reviews but I have been looking for this book for hours
I was having a conversation with a friend about books we loved as kids and I have been hunting for this.
My mum would read this to me when i was younger and it’s stayed with me for years.
I’m twenty now and this was published when I was born, it’s stayed in my mind my entire life, I’m so glad I found it again.
I am desperate to read it again but I remember how much I loved it as a child and how much it moved me.

[Jonathan Chew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story and very interesting question posed by the author of "what if?" no one had ever heard or seen an elephant before, how would we respond?

[Daija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for children. The key topic is to show not to count anyone out and to listen to all. In this story, out of nowhere, we see an elephant appear in a town, however, no one knows that it’s an elephant except the little boy named Eric. Everyone in the town put this elephant to work in different ways to discover what its purpose was and to figure out what it was. After lots of hard work they still couldn’t figure out what it was so they took it to the Professor. After lots of calculating, the Professor discovered it was an elephant. Throughout the story, the little boy named Eric kept trying to tell everyone it was an elephant but no one wanted to listen to him. I rate this story a 5/5 because it shows that adults aren’t always smarter than children.

[Anchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

One reviewer’s “what if” comment lighted a light bulb for me. What if a new person or a new thing comes into our life, are we supposed to judge based what our own experiences, expectation , (limited) knowledge? Or, are we supposed to accept that thing/ person as is and learn that new thing or person. I don’t get the name thing yet. Maybe it’s important to have an identity. Illustration is great. Ideas are hard for kids to grasp as it did take me a while to understand the message implied in the story.

[Carolina]

nothing

[Tavia · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Not knowing what something is.
- Figuring things out.
- How do we know what an elephant looks like, discuss its features.
- Is it important for us to have names?

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was just ok, but my kids LOVED it. We had giggles and references to this book for days after. it's fun for a read aloud. Maybe a little too silly for bedtime.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a thrift store because my 2-year-old nephew really likes elephants, especially their long trunks and floppy ears. Neither the story nor the art captured my heart, but I'll wait to make a more meaningful comment until I've watched his response to the book.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative story about an elephant that just shows up in a town one day not knowing who or what it is. The towns people debate over what the creature is as they have never seen one before. One little boys knows, but no one will listen to him.

Engaging illustrations.

[Bhargavi Balachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!