Elephants Can Paint Too! (Anne Schwartz Books) [Hardcover]

Katya Arnold (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Anne Schwartz Books

I teach in two schools.

One is in the city.

The other is in the jungle.

Some of my students have hands.

Others have trunks.

Elephants live in Asia. They eat three hundred pounds of food a day. They spray water out of their trunks. Even so, they are a lot like you. They like to eat cookies and hang out with their friends. They even like to paint pictures.

In this true story you'll learn about an amazing class of elephants that are taught to become artists by an amazing teacher.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–When Thailand recently began to conserve trees that previously would have been harvested, domesticated elephants lost their jobs hauling lumber. Subsequently, many died of neglect because they could no longer earn their keep. This book highlights an unusual project implemented by the author. In simple text, she explains that she teaches art in two schools, one urban and one in the jungle, and that some of her students have hands. Others have trunks. Then tells how she trains elephants to paint and compares the work of her human and elephant pupils. The spare narrative is easy to understand and reads like a picture book. Additional facts about the elephants and techniques are provided in boxed sections. This title demonstrates animal behavior in a similar style to Ron Hirschi's Dance with Me (Penguin, 1995) and Bert Kitchen's Somewhere Today (Candlewick, 1992; both o.p.). Arnold's amusing and colorful photographs–of elephants and children at work–will have readers laughing as they view them side-by-side. This fun-to-share offering would make a creative segue into a discussion about the plight of endangered species. An author's note provides information about the project and explains that the paintings are sold under the auspices of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project to obtain revenue that can support the efforts to save these wonderful creatures.–Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Some elephants can paint! Arnold's unusual picture book centers on a group of pachyderms that do just that. They live in Thailand, where the slowing of the logging industry prompted the need to find alternative sources of funding for elephant care. Arnold, an art teacher, juxtaposes human art students with the painting pachyderms in an effective presentation in which brief, matter-of-fact text contrasts hilariously with full-color photographs of elephants delicately gripping paintbrushes in their giant trunks, mischievously dunking their artwork in the river, and, occasionally, painting one another. It all looks like great fun, with the elephants making a mess just as kids do. In addition to the silliness, there's some factual information--for example, an elephant's trunk has 150,000 muscles, but the human body has only 639. An author's note provides information about the nonprofit Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project, which sells the work of elephant artists. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689869851
• ISBN-13: 978-0689869853
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #789,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars inspiring, April 24, 2006

By 

D. Maple (Vermont ,United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elephants Can Paint Too! (Anne Schwartz Books) (Hardcover)

inspiring book that illustrates the beauty within all, hope for an endangered species, connection between humans, animals, and our planet. Proceeds of the book benefit this innovation collaboration- I plan to purchase gift copies for birthdays, holidays.. really wonderful book for all ages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars inspired--and Inspiring!, December 29, 2007

By 

Kelly Dwyer (wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elephants Can Paint Too! (Anne Schwartz Books) (Hardcover)

This book has quickly become my 5 1/2 year-old daughter's favorite. She delights in looking at the paintings made by elephants, and I appreciate the way facts about elephants are "sneaked" into the story so seamlessly. Switching back and forth between human students and animal ones makes for an engaging structure. There is humor as well as beauty. Best of all, the book has made us look at elephants--and by extension animals--in a new way (and has also broadened my daughter's concepts of what grown-ups can do as careers). We both really love this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars First purchase, May 24, 2010

By 

N. Briones "Avid Reader" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elephants Can Paint Too! (Anne Schwartz Books) (Hardcover)

I was impressed with how fast I got the book. The only thing I found a little confusing was how to delete a purchase and ended up getting two of the same book as I was trying to mail to two different addresses. The return was easy though.