Encore for Eleanor

by Bill Peet

Eleanor the elephant, a retired circus star, finds a new career as the resident artist in the city zoo.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, 1st Grade

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Bill Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios. He joined Disney in 1937 and worked on The Jungle Book, Song of the South, Cinderella, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Goliath II, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other stories.

After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is close to Bill’s last book. His last was in 1990. I think he was thinking of retirement here as this book is about retirement. It’s sad when you don’t have something to do and you need to find a hobby, or something like that.

We meet Eleanor, an elephant in a circus who preforms on stilts. She does this for 40 years until she falls one day and is sent to the zoo where she learns she can draw and then crowds once again come see her to watch her draw pictures of the circus.

For some reason, I didn’t connect to this story the way I do others of Bill’s. It’s a fine story and as I stated, I felt like he was thinking about retirement. He went 9 more years before he retired, but it was in his mind.

The nephew thought this was a boring story. He said it was interesting that the elephant could draw and the elephant on stilts was sort of cool, but it was sort of a sad story. My buddy likes an upbeat comedy with action. He gave this 2 stars.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
3* story

Bill Peet. I hardly need to say more. The funny thing about this story - it might be true. I mean, this has happened. It's not far out at all. Squirt liked it. It kept his attention. I wait for those moments when he finally stops hopping and fiddling and squirming, and leans against me to look at the pictures and see what's going to happen next. That's my favorite.

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Encore for Eleanor” is a cute story by Bill about an old elephant named Eleanor who was once a great circus performer, but was moved to the zoo when she got too old to play her part. It was then at the zoo that Eleanor learns a new special ability that might jumpstart her career again. “Encore for Eleanor” is a great book for children who want to discover new talents for themselves and realize that everyone is special in their own way.

Eleanor the elephant was once a great circus star who would stand on stilts and impressed the audience to no end. One day however, since Eleanor has been performing in the circus for forty years, Eleanor’s knees were weak and suddenly, she fell off the stilts and landed on the floor with a hard crash! Eleanor began to worry that her boss, Colonel T.J. Tinglehoffer was going to send her away because of her ruining her act by falling off the stilts. Sure enough, Colonel Tinglehoffer did send Eleanor away to the zoo and Eleanor bade a tearful goodbye to her friends at the circus.
Even though Eleanor had plenty to eat and good home to stay in, she still missed the circus life and was miserable because she felt like she could not do anything extraordinary like she used to do in the circus. One day, however Eleanor awoke to find a teenage girl trying to draw a rhinoceros on her canvas. Of course, when the rhinoceros moved and girl could not draw the rhinoceros, the girl became angry and threw her charcoal to the ground. Eleanor was so interested in what the girl was doing, that she wanted to learn how to draw also. So, when the girl went off to see some ducks in the pond, Eleanor slyly picked up the charcoal and she decided to draw one of the clowns from the circus. However, Eleanor was soon discovered drawing the picture by the teenage girl and the teenage girl was so impressed by the drawing that she decided to show the picture to everyone. Everyone was impressed except for Mr. McJunkens, who did not believe that Eleanor drew the clown. Eleanor was so mad that she grabbed the charcoal and…

What does Eleanor draw and will she able to convince Mr. McJunkens that she can really draw?

Read the rest of the book to find out!

Bill Peet’s story of an old elephant who wants to be special again is extremely cute and brilliant for children to read. The scene that stood out the most for me was the scene where Eleanor learns how to draw after she witnesses the teenage girl drawing the rhinoceros. That scene was so amazing because you would have never imagined an elephant drawing such a great picture and drew the picture in a matter of seconds. Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful and detailed, especially of the image of Eleanor herself as she looks beautiful in her circus outfit and yet, she maintains wise appearance throughout the story telling the audience that she has indeed aged after performing in the circus for forty years.

“Encore for Eleanor” is a great book about the importance of trying out new activities in life to keep your life going and will surely encourage many children to follow what they believe in and do many new things in their lives. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Kristin Nare · Rating 5 out of 5]

My boys and I enjoyed this sweet "come back" story of an injured circus elephant who finds a new skill set in her new zoo location. My 3- year-old has now named his stuffed elephant Eleanor.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bill Peet! I'm sure I had read this one before, but we just got a copy in my library so I reread it today just to be sure.

Eleanor the elephant is too old to safely perform her circus act, so she is sent to the city zoo. She feels silly just standing there while people stare at her. She is unhappy at the zoo until she discovers a hidden talent.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the animals in this book a lot more than the people, who were overly dramatic or downright mean. The ending was happy, but overall the book felt depressing since zoos and circuses aren't generally the best places for animals to live. The language also felt very outdated. Did remind a bit of The One and Only Ivan.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming

[Alissa Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade Level: 2nd-3rd
Genre: Animal Fantasy
The book Encore for Eleanor is okay in opinion. I believe Eleanor was self-centered and wallowed in her own self pity. She was only happy when she was performing for an audience. If she wasn't the center of attention then she wasn't happy. I believe the story could've had more potential.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sweet Bill Peet book about Eleanor the Circus Elephant. It teaches that no one has a single purpose in life, and when you are no longer able to do one thing that you used to love, there will always be something else that you can do.
Eleanor the Elephant has worked in the circus for many years, doing a trick in which she walks on stilts. But Eleanor has gotten very old, and she's not as sturdy as she used to be on her stilts. One day, she falls off, and the circus boss decides to send her away to a zoo, for the safety of both her and the rest of the circus performers. Eleanor knows that she is lucky to be at the zoo, but she is still depressed, as she wants to perform and earn her keep there. Then one day, a teenage girl brings something to the zoo that will change Eleanor's life...

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Bill Peet books. The illustrations of both the circus and the zoo are memorable, even if all the animals appear to be contained in tiny chain-link-fence pens, and Eleanor has a wonderful personality (so much so that I'm sure my childhood self panicked a bit at the mere suggestion, early on, of her next stop being the glue factory). One of our favorite lines, when she's first put on display, is "Without her fancy circus robe and feathery headdress she felt like an overgrown wrinkled ugly big bloop of a thing," (followed swiftly by her retreat into the barn with only her back end visible, hah). But the way she takes her destiny into her own trunk inevitably brings a smile to your face.

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: The elephant falls from her stilts in the circus ring. She worries about what will happen to her: glue factory? elephant-skin shoes? elephant-leather jackets? ground up into seven tons of fertilizer? She acts grumpy and sad at the zoo. A man calls Eleanor "a dumb animal." A teenage girl, who is sketching a rhino, responds very poorly to frustration and disappointment: " 'Oh Phooey!' exclaimed the girl. 'Now wouldn't you know it! Why couldn't that big oaf stay put for one more measly minute? The inconsiderate clod!' With an angry shrug, she tossed her charcoal onto the sidewalk, then crumpled up her drawing, and flung it into a trash can."

[Restokes92]

This book is about an elephant who was retired from the circus but missed being the center of attention. While in retirement at the zoo she figured out she knew how to paint and then everyone came back to see the painting elephant. This book is great for a read aloud because it can be used to show students they have value and all have different talents. The illustrations are also perfect for visual learners.

[DelGal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story has a happy ending for a circus elephant who is forced to retire and be sent away from the life she knew, only to discover her new hidden talents. Eleanor has the potential to make both young and old feel useful and wanted, no matter your age.
My only bit of a disapointment was the style of ilustrations, they seemed a bit too dull for a kids' book.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 5 out of 5]

How great is Bill Peet? Should I ever find myself raising a child, this is undoubtedly the first author he or she will read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay! Maybe it will be Eleanor's signature book! Bill Peet is one of my favorites.

[Amanda L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an accurate portrayal of the circus but a good lesson for getting oneself out of a slump by trying something new and finding new purpose.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retired circus elephant finds a new career making sketches in a children's zoo. Pleasant story and likeable characters.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor finds satisfying work to do, even in a different season of life.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was overjoyed to find two Bill Peet books I hadn't read on the library shelf recently, since I thought they had all been removed from the system for being too old and worn. Apparently, these were long overdue copies that just got returned, almost two years after I tried to request them and couldn't. Since the barcodes are no longer in the system, these never should have made it to the shelf, but they were there for me!

This heartwarming story involves Eleanor, a performing circus elephant who must reinvent herself when she is too old to keep walking on stilts. She discovers a passion for art, and the book has nice messages about overcoming naysers and stereotypes to discover new dreams. It's a very sweet story, and the illustrations are colorful, expressive, and full of lively details. I'm glad I got to read this.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Bill Peet’s illustrations!