SurLaLune Storytime: Elephant Walk


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Alligators and Crocodiles:
See You Later, Alligator Alphabet:
Alphabet Soup Autumn:
Fall, Leaves, Fall Babies:
I Kissed the Baby Balloons:
Up, Up, and Away!Bathtime:
Everybody Wash Bears:
Going on a Bear Hunt Bedtime:
Time for Bed Birds:
Birds of a Feather Bodies:
A Body of My Own Books:
I Love to Read Bugs:
Creepy Crawly Critters Butterflies:
Fly Away Home Cars and More Things on Wheels:
Going, Going, Gone!Cats:
Here Kitty!Christmas (Secular):
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Christmas (Religious):
Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him Clothes:
Time to Get Dressed Clouds:
I'm a Little Cloud Colors:
Color My World Cookies:
C is for Cookie Cows:
Happy Cows Dads:
My Dad Dancing:
I've Got Rhythm!Dinosaurs:
Stomp, Stomp, Roar Dogs:
Woof! Arf! Bark!Ducks:
Just Ducky
Easter:
Easter Parade
Elephants:
Elephant Walk Emotions:
The Way I Feel Farm Animals:
Down on the Farm Fish and Oceans:
Commotion in the Ocean Flowers:
A Rose By Any Other Name Food:
I'm Hungry Friends:
Will You Be My Friend?Frogs:
Jump, Frog, Jump! Gardens:
In My Pretty Garden Halloween:
Trick or Treat!Hats:
We Wear Many Hats Houses:
No Place Like Home Mice:
Quiet As a Mouse Moms:
My Mom Monkeys:
Silly Monkeys Monsters:
You Don't Scare Me!Moon:
Fly Me to the Moon Numbers:
I Can Count Pigs:
This Little Piggy Pizza:
Let's Make a Pizza Rabbits:
I Love My Bunny Rain:
Rain Makes Applesauce St. Patrick's Day:
Not Easy Being Green Sickness:
Get Well Soon Snakes:
Slithery Snakes Snow:
Let It Snow!Soup:
Soup's On!Space:
Space Race Spring:
Spring Is Here!Summer:
What Do You Do in the Summer Time? Thanksgiving:
Let's Give Thanks Trains:
Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo Trees:
In the Leafy Treetops Turtles:
Slowly But Surely Valentine's Day:
Hugs and Kisses Winter:
When It Starts To Snow Wolves:
The Wolf is Coming!

Elephant Walk

Horton Hatches the Egg
by Dr. Seuss
Age Level: Preschool and up

Synopsis: When a lazy bird hatching an egg wants a vacation, she asks Horton, the elephant, to sit on her egg--which he does through all sorts of hazards until he is rewarded for doing what he said he would.
Note: This is by far one of the longest books I ever use for preschool story time. I begin the session with it and am always impressed how well the kids sit for the story. It helps if you have them say the refrain with you. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent!"

Flannel Board

Five Elephants in the Bathtub

[Artfelt has a Five Elephants in the Bathtub felt puppet set.]

One elephant in the bathtub going to a swim.
Knock, Knock,
(Clap twice with "Knock, Knock.")
Splash, Splash,
(Slap knees twice with "Splash, Splash.")
Come on in!
(Motion with both hands to come in.)

Two elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Three elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Three elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Four elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Five elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
It all fell in!

	How the Elephant Got Its Trunk: A Retelling of the Rudyard Kipling Tale by Jean Richards and Rudyard Kipling Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Because of his curiosity about what the crocodile has for dinner, a little elephant and all elephants thereafter have long trunks.

Flannel Board

Folkmanis' Elephant puppet is a great tool for telling the story of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" provided below. I like to tell the story in my own words with the help of the elephant. I point to each part of the elephant as I progress through the story. Just start with the trunk and work your way down the elephant to the tail for the final blind man. All ages sit well for the story. For the youngest kids, start the story with an explanation of blindness.

The Blind Men and the Elephant
by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a WALL!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a SPEAR!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a SNAKE!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he:
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a TREE!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a FAN!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a ROPE!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

	"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" by Patricia Thomas Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: The last time the elephant sneezed, he blew monkeys out of the trees, stripes off the zebra, and spots off the leopard. This rollicking new edition of the favorite nonsense verse again shows the panic that follows the elephant's dreaded announcement.

Song

The Elephant

The elephant goes like this and that.
He's terribly tall and terribly fat.
He has no fingers, he has some toes.
But goodness, gracious, what a nose.

	Miss Mary Mack by Mary Ann Hoberman Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: An expanded adaptation of the familiar hand-clapping rhyme about a young girl and an elephant. Includes music and directions for the hand-clapping actions.

	The Ant and the Elephant by Bill Peet Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: The elephant is the kindest animal in the jungle, rescuing the giraffe, lion, and rhino, but who will return the favor when the elephant needs help?

Song

Right Foot, Left Foot

Right foot, left foot, see me go.
I'm gray, and big, and slow.
As I go walking down the street,
With my trunk and four big feet.

	Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme by Nadine Bernard Westcott Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: Elephants dance around in glee while a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made.

	How to Catch an Elephant by Amy Schwartz Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Here's the secret. Follow your uncle's advice and take to the jungle "3 cakes, 2 raisins, 1 telescope, and a pair of tweezers." Find a tree and wait for an elephant. If the elephant is angry, obstreperous, and hungry...hold on, be brave--things are not always what they seem.

Films

	Hot Hippo by Mwenye Hadithi Age Level: PreK-2
Synopsis: Relates why the hippopotamus lives in water. Note: Don't have an elephant film yet, so we're using a hippo one instead.

More Books to Read On Your Own

Right Number of Elephants
by Jeff Sheppard
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: A counting book in which a little girl relies on the help of some eager elephants.
Note: Artfelt has a Right Number of Elephants felt puppet set.

Six Blind Men and the Elephant
by John Godfrey Saxe
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Six blind men each feel a different part of the elephant and then try to describe what he is like.
Note: Text for this story is provided above.

Never Ride Your Elephant to School
by Doug Johnson
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A humorous account of the disadvantages of bringing an elephant into the classroom.

17 Kings and 42 Elephants
by Margaret Mahy
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: 17 kings sing and dance their way through the jungle on the backs of 42 elephants until the "deep dark jungle" swallows them. Their mysterious destination is not as important as their obvious joy in the journey; the characters are not as important as the rollicking language.

Bernard's Nap
by Joan Elizabeth Goodman
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A little elephant has trouble falling asleep at nap time.

Elephants on Board
by Suse MacDonald
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Elephant performers on their way to a show have a flat tire and must employ a crane, cherry picker, and other vehicles to arrive on time.

Elmer
by Elmer McKee
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: All the elephants of the jungle were gray except Elmer, who was a patchwork of brilliant colors until the day he got tired of being different and making the other elephants laugh.

When the Elephant Walks
by Keiko Kasza
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When the Elephant walks he scares the Bear who runs away and scares the Crocodile who runs away and scares the Wild Hog in this never-ending animal story.

When Elephant Goes To a Party
by Sonia Levitin
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Explains all the things that Elephant should know about how to behave when attending a birthday or other kind of party.

The Mightiest
by Keiko Kasza
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: The Lion, the Bear, and the Elephant compete to see who can do the best job scaring a tiny old woman, but she has a surprise for them.

Elephant Small Is Lost
by Sally Grindley
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Elephant Small is lost. When Mama Elephant can't find him, she enlists the help of Jolly Dog.

Elephants Never Jump
by Violet Easton
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Why don't elephants jump?

Mort the Sport
by Robert Kraus
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Mort's attempts to excel at playing both baseball and the violin make him so confused that he decides to take up chess instead.

Five Minutes Peace
by Jill Murphy
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A mother elephant finally finds some peace in the bathtub.

But No Elephants
by Jerry Smath
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Grandma Tildy finally agrees to take an unwanted elephant into her home, but soon regrets her decision.

More Songs for at Home

Miss Mary Mack

Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack
All dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
All down her back, back, back.

She asked her mother, mother, mother
For 50 cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
Jump over the fence, fence, fence.

They jumped so high, high, high
They reached the sky, sky, sky
And they didn't come back, back, back
'Til the 4th of July, ly, ly!

Elephant

The elephant walks
Like this and like that
[Get down on all fours and walk back and forth.]
He's very tall,
[Stand and stretch arms up.]
And he's very fat.
[Stretch arms out to sides.]
He has no fingers,
[Hold hands up, making fists to hide fingers.]
But he does have toes,
[Reach down and touch toes.]
And, goodness gracious,
What a nose!
[Grab nose between fingers and thumb of left hand; insert right arm through loop to form elephant's trunk.]

Jumbo the Elephant

Jumbo has a great big trunk
That goes swinging to and fro.
[Clasp hands to make trunk swing.]
And he has tiny, tiny eyes
That show him where to go.
[Put hands to eyes.]
His great big ears go flopping
[Put hands to ears.]
While his great big feet go stomping, stomping, stomping on the ground
[Stomp feet on the ground.]

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© Heidi Anne Heiner, SurLaLune Fairy Tales
E-mail: heidi@surlalunefairytales.com
Page created 8/22/05; Last updated 4/22/08
www.surlalunefairytales.com

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