When the Elephant Walks

by Keiko Kasza

A charming circular story where the tiniest animal just might be the most powerful.

When the Elephant walks, he scares the Bear. When the Bear runs away, he scares the Crocodile. When the Crocodile swims for his life, he scares the Wild Hog . . . and so on, down to the Mouse. And who could be scared of the little Mouse? The last spread answers this question in a way that will delight small children-and the endearing animals, rhythmic text, and hilarious illustrations will make this book a favorite.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Humor, Fantasy

30 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Keiko was born on a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. She grew up in a typical Japanese extended family with her parents, two brothers, and grandparents. Uncles, aunts, and cousins also lived nearby. She came to the United States in 1973 to continue her education, and in 1976 she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in graphic arts from California State University at Northridge.
While working as a graphic designer, Keiko read Leo Lionni’s masterful work, Frederick, and she became interested in picture books. She began experimenting with picture books in her free time. Her first book was published in 1981 in Japan and thereafter she continued to publish in her native language. The Wolf’s Chicken Stew, a 1987 ALA notable book and the winner of the 1989 Kentucky Bluegrass Award, was her first work to be published in the United States. She has now published 22 books and her work is translated into 16 languages.

Keiko compares the process of creating a book to acting on stage under the lights: “I become the character that I’m working on at that moment. I pretend that I’m a bird looking for a mother, or a pig trying to impress his girlfriend. When I’m acting, I’m a child myself.” Her ambition is not to create a hundred books but to create one really good book that will be kept on the bookshelves for generations (although a hundred good books would be even better, of course!)

Keiko Kasza lives in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband, a professor of Japanese politics at Indiana University, and they have two sons.

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

All these animals need to chill out.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good choice for storytime

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Elephant walks, it starts a chain reaction of another animal who gets scared and runs away and that scares another animal who runs away until . . . who scares Elephant?

[CybercrrEDU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a really cute story and quite a clever subject to talk about. Everyone is scared of something, it normalizes fear, and helps us to discuss irrational v rational fears.

[Feralucce Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our fears are often baseless, and this book aims to help young readers see the humor in that and be more discerning. When the elephant takes his stroll, he sets off a chain reaction of fleeing animals who are in no real danger, but panic themselves and each other anyway. It culminated with the smallest animal—and well-known elephant kryptonite—the mouse looking up a tree that now holds a raccoon and her baby, a wild hog, a crocodile, a bear, and an elephant, all cowering away from one another and, by extension, little him! It is a beautifully illustrated series of pages where the animal in question and a few plants and props—a swing and pram with the raccoon family, a lawn chair set up complete with the “Crocodile Daily” for the crocodile—are set against a white background that minimizes distractions. The language is simple and straightforward, but the lesson still comes through well.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute, colorful, and imaginative story of how easily you can be frightened. Small children will love the animal's reactions to being scared, as they are going about their daily activities. Putting the animals in human settings and human characteristics makes the story understandable for small ones. Loved it and can't wait to share with little ones in our family.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the active verbs; this could be used as a mentor text for older kids. Or just read it to the littles for the silliness.

"It's not that elephants are inherently terrified of mice; instead, they get startled in response to something unexpected scurrying around their feet."
(While confirming that though I did learn that they are scared of bees. Which does make sense.)

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous and cyclic tale of what happens when an elephant out for a walk scares a bear, who in turn scares a crocodile who scares a wild hog, that scares a mother raccoon, and her baby who scares a mouse, that scares the elephant...

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A this thing leads to that things leads to this thing sort of book. Cute, quick, and sweetly illustrated.

[Brandy T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a super cute book. It's the snowball effect, when elephant walks he scares another animal and they run and scare another animal and so on.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids like this, but never seem to "get it" at storytime. They don't know the trope that elephants are afraid of mice. I blame too much TV, not enough reading.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a another book that I read to my son during reading time. The illustrations were absolutely adorable. I thought overall it was a cute read.

[Veronica Molina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy cortito y simpático. Redondito, con toques cómicos.
Me gustan los animales que salen, un poco lejanos a la cultura chilena y más propios de Japón en general.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. The story comes full circle, and the little one I read it to loved it.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and beautifully illustrated book about various animals who get scared by the others. The unexpected ending made me laugh.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A toddler and up book about an elephant where one action triggers another for many animals.

[Ellie Bevan]

!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute children’s book.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL!!! Book.

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 year old loved loved loved this one. It's pretty silly.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si el niño elije este libro y como adulto le ayudas (comprar, regalar, prestar) para que pueda leerlo, ten por seguro que es una buena elección. Si como adulto, te gustaría conocer un poco más sobre el libro, entonces te invito a leer la reseña:

El libro cuenta con unas ilustraciones detalladas, con colores suaves y alto énfasis en las expresiones de los personajes que aparecen en la trama; que son características la Autora (Keiko Kasza); otra de sus grandes características es que la trama tiene giros inesperados (plot twist), una gran cualidad con consecuencias divertidas y finales sorpresivos; cualidad que hemos disfrutado en familia.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recieved this as part of Dolly Parton's Imagination Lib and its not my fav... the babe seems to like it tho bc it has an elephant in the story. But I probably wouldn't go out of my way to purchase it.

[Igolder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was shocked, shocked to learn that Keiko Kasza, a woman living in the present era, wrote a book filled with ALL MAN ANIMALS except for "Mrs. Raccoon" who must wear an apron and care for her baby. This was published in 1990, not 1950!

The otherwise-amusing story is harmless enough (aside from the usual anthropomorphism, seeing humor in the predatory nature of the food chain, etc.) so all you need to do is take a Sharpie and change the gender of each animal. Voila.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great cause and effect book. It starts with an elephant walking scaring a bear who runs away and scares the crocodile, and so on...

The illustrations are very cute and the text is simple enough and repetitive in nature that young readers should catch on and be able to retell the story with help from the pictures.

[Emily Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another one of my favorite childhood books. Re-reading it, I notice that I love the simplicity of this book. it has few words, and the pictures are not too detailed. To me, everything is just right. Additionally, the message is lovely. I think that it tells the reader about the "ripple effect,"and illustrates the way that all of our lives are interconnected.

[Taylor Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for early or struggling readers because it is predictable, has few words and the pictures help the story. It also has the message that everyone is afriad of somehing from the largest of animals to the smallest.

[Kelly Triplett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for children of various ages. For young children, the brevity will be beneficial; for older children, they could discuss cause and effect relationships; and for new readers the short words will be appreciated.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elephant is not a small, timid animal. Therefore when he walks he is going to frighten whomever is in his path. And in this case it's Bear, Crocodile, Wild Hog and Raccoon. But what scares an elephant? You'd never guess!

A great storytime read! Kids will love calling out predictions.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this cute and funny little book.

[Cws]

JEPIC-Kaz