Ella Who?

by Linda Ashman, Sara Sánchez (Illustrator)

Mom . . . there’s an elephant in the living room.
It’s moving day—and look who slipped in the door: an elephant! But when a little girl tries to tell her family about their unusual guest, the distracted grown-ups just say, “Ella WHO?” Even as children giggle at the girl’s adventures with the smallish pachyderm, and at the fun, recurring refrain, they’ll relate to the poignant theme about making—and sometimes letting go of—new friends.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2017

About the author

Linda Ashman is the author of more than 40 picture books and The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books . Her books have been included on the "best of the year" lists of the New York Times, IRA/CBC Children's Choices, the New York Public Library and others, and have been translated into many languages. Linda lives with her family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Daughter of Paper and Stone]

The art was adorable. The misunderstanding less so. I hated that no one seemed to today attention to the girl 😭. My biggest pet peeve is when parents don’t pay attention to their kids. Sure, people are human and sometimes timers and overwhelmed. Yet the fact that no one checked on the girl or friend once in the day? 😐.

Anyways, it was a good read despite all that.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

[Chris]

Super clever, funny, and cute story about a little girl whose family members are so "into" what they're doing that they pay very little attention to her (wise up, parents!). The simple illustrations accentuate the story really nicely...this is the second Linda Ashman book that I've enjoyed tremendously!

[Jennifer]

Sweet and clever story about a young girl who accidentally lets a baby elephant into the house on moving day. All the adults are too busy to notice, though she tries to tell them. Thoroughly entertaining with charming pictures and an ending you won't predict, this is a great group read aloud!

[Lisa Boyd]

Okay, so I thought "not another elephant book with the name Ella/Ellie"! Luckily this book was a surprise in that regard toward the end.

[Jocelin]

Super cute story about a baby elephant in the living of a little girl. She is the only one who can see her.

[Jennifer]

This was a cute book. The illustrations were well done and adorable. My only complaint about this book with it being a children's book is that it seems to be geared towards children who are just starting to learn to read on their own without their parents help, and there are some words (I don't remember them off hand) where I feel a child in this age range would have to ask a parent to explain to them what it means. Not that that's a bad thing, but it seems more to me like a book that a parent would need to read with the child and not as an independent reader. But, with that being said, I really did enjoy reading this book.

[Jason Smith]

This is a story about a little girl who accidentally lets an elephant into the house. No one believes her, but the elephant exists. The illustrations and drawings are simply colored and drawn, but work very well when paired with the fancy text. Illustrations are drawn on a glossy page type which makes them easy to fall into. I liked this book pretty well; it’s easy to first think that the elephant is going to be an imaginary friend but the ending takes what could be predictable finish and adds a neat ending instead.

[Rose Rosetree]

Not for the first time, grownups just don't understand.

Case in point, the narrator's fresh discovery -- on moving into a new house with her family -- somebody new. Not a member of her human family, nor a normal-type neighbor, but a very helpful baby elephant. A real one: Fiona the Elephant.

What a sweet story of friendship. Also the larger point, to this Goodreader, is that parents and other caregivers can be clueless. Yet kids will rise to many an occasion, do the right thing, and learn from the experience.

FIVE STARS indeed!

[Saravanadharsan Premkumar]

Mom . . . there’s an elephant in the living room.
It’s moving day—and look who slipped in the door: an elephant! But when a little girl tries to tell her family about their unusual guest, the distracted grown-ups just say, “Ella WHO?” Even as children giggle at the girl’s adventures with the smallish pachyderm, and at the fun, recurring refrain, they’ll relate to the poignant theme about making—and sometimes letting go of—new friends.

[Dawn]

You know how now and then you leave the door open and someone or something wanders in? Well, in this story, it's an elephant. Only, all the adults don't see it and don't really listen to what she is saying.



Super cute illustrations.



This book could be used in all three of the Open Court units we usually do!

[Kathleen]

This is a cute picture book about a little lost Elephant (Ella who?) who finds her way into a little girls house on moving day. A few puns, and some fun pictures that will make you long for the care free days of youth. Worth a good chuckle, and we will get it again from the library in a couple of years.

[Amanda]

Absolutely adorable. This book had a wonderul storyline as well as adorable illustrations. I read this book with my children (3 and 7). Both adored the book we will definitely add it to our favorites. I received this book as a result of winning a giveaway.

[Laine]

so fun! i feel like a lot of kids could probably relate with this - when your parents are only half-listening, you can get away with a lot! including hanging out and making friends with an elephant :)

[Donna Mork]

So cute! Shows how parents get so distracted they don't really hear what their kid is saying. This girl just rolls with it and enjoys her time playing with the elephant. Seems like she will have more interesting visitors in the near future.

[Brittany]

This is such a sweet little story about a little girl befriending a baby elephant. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! This book also shares the message that you must always do what you know is right, and not always what you want. A must read for all ages!

[Viviane Elbee]

This is an absolutely adorable book about a girl who discovers a small elephant in her home after moving to a new place. I love how the parents do not seem to notice the elephant at all. I can picture kids giggling through this one.

[Jennifer Schall]

A baby elephant and a little girl played together. The little girl saw a flyer that said the baby elephant was missing and she called the animal center. She knew the baby elephant missed its mother. At the end, a baboon was swinging in the little girl's yard on her swing.

[Patti]

Very cute.

[Marcie]

I liked this and the illustrations are lovely. Cute example of when families just aren't quite listening.

[Jennifer]

Cute! Room for sequels.

[Heather]

precious

[Seema Rao]

A girl and a baby elephant have adventures in Fauvist-inspired pencil drawings.

[Kelly]

Adorable! Loved it.

[Emily]

sweet, liked the illustrations. has an empathy lesson, and also a reminder to big people to listen to small people a little better.

[Beth P]

This will be a fun one for a primary read-aloud. And the ideas we'll come up with based upon the last page...👍👍👍

[Ja’net]

My son loves this book.

[Victoria B.]

The story was good, the pictures were cute - overall, a solidly entertaining picture book for kids.

[Erin Buhr]

Seriously cute book about the chaos during a move, adults misinterpreting what kids say and little girl who befriends an elephant.

[Jennifer Penaloza]

Super cute illustrations with lots of color and detail. No underlying message to the story, simply a fun read.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin]

Adorable illustrations (particularly tea time and the pool party) underscore this hilarious story about a girl, her distracted parents, an unlikely new friend, and some wild neighbors.