Customer Reviews

Uncle Elephant (I Can Read Book 2)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered "Uncle Elephant" from a video that I rented for my toddler son, "Frog and Toad Together". There was a song "Count to Ten" that featured the "Uncle Elephant" character and it was so delightful that I went and got the book from the library. It is easy reading and is heartwarming. His wrinkles and cane remind you of a long-missed grandparent.

The book consists of several small stories, so it does not demand much of an attention span so you can read this book to a child who is too young to read and it's simple sentences are a good book for a new reader. It's very charming!

this funny, sad, and thoughtful story of a little elephant who loses his parents in ship wreck is a great book to talk with your young children about loss and family. Little Elephant must go to stay with his Uncle. Many adventures ensue, as well as lil elephants understanding of older folks. A surprise awaits lil elephant and the end and you'll find yourself shedding a tear for good old Uncle Elephant.

Good for boys or girls-up to about 8 years.

5 stars!

Uncle Elephant was by far my daughter, Nikki's favorite book of childhood. It is a timeless tale of love, devotion, and the true meaning of family.

When she was in first grade, Nikki wrote to Arnold Lobel. He wrote back to Nikki and even hand drew a picture of Uncle Elephant for her. It is a treasure.

The message of the book is a simple one - the love we have and show each other can sustain us even in our darkest hours, giving us hope and strength to face - and even find joy in- the day.

Adults say this is a book that deals with loss. I'm sure that when my daughter is older, she will see it that way. She does not now. That is one of the beautiful things about this entertaining, wonderful book - that the aspects of loss in this book are presented in a way that they can be completely ignored by children who aren't ready, acknowledged by children who are just discovering these ideas, and can be discussed with older children.

I think it is inaccurate to say this is a book "about loss." This book is written from the child's perspective, and it is primarily a book about his visit to his uncle. As an adult, we catch what is going on - the child's parents are lost at sea - presumed dead - and his uncle (although I think it is the parent's uncle) comes to take a nephew he has never seen to live with him. But that's not what the book is about, and that's not what your child takes away from it. It is just a delight watching the two elephants interact.

I don't want to spoil the ending. Darn - I want to talk about it.

Arnold Lobel's books are part of the regular diet in our house and the recent addition of uncle Elephant looks to be a worthwhile one. It'a caring and sensitive story that deals with the unhappy disappearance of parents without becoming sentimental. My son listens intently and asks me to repeat specific sections: when uncle trumpets the morning: "varoomaroom" (in your best elephant voice), and when he composes a cheerful song for his nephew (sing it to any tune you like and change a word or name here and there), it picks up everyone's spirits and the happy ending makes it fine for bed time.

This book has many short stories about how much fun a young elephant has loads of fun with his Uncle that he has never seen before. All they do is have fun until hiss parents come back. That sounds like how me and my cousin are.

What happens when an uncle is faced with the possibility that his nephew is now an orphan? That's the story of Uncle Elephant. Arnold Lobel treats this tough story with kindness, humor and heart. His illustrations show the heart break on both the uncle and the nephew even though neither character ever admits his pain to the other. The words, though chosen to be easy for young readers, are put together to show just how people in grief take measures to put up a strong front to the world. Although Uncle Elephant has a happy ending, the book still serves as gentle advice for dealing with real loss.

Mother and Father Elephant are lost at sea, so Uncle Elephant cares for his nephew until they are found. This book is a series of short chapters that are sure to keep learning readers engaged.

Reason for Reading: Ds read aloud to me as his reader.

A nameless little elephant is left alone as his parents go for a sail and end up lost at sea in a storm. Out of the blue Uncle Elephant arrives, takes him to his house where they have a wonderful series of getting-to-know-you adventures, until everything works out in the end.

This book is more like a collection of short stories, like the Frog and Toad books, than a comprehensive story but it is held together by the first and last chapters which deal with the boy's missing parents. Some of the chapters are hilarious and had ds laughing out loud, like when Uncle put all his clothes on, on top of one another, and others were just so-so. The book was a little on the young side for him but he enjoys humorous stories and the reading level is spot on now. He is very confidant with Level 2s in this series now and I'm using the few we have left unread as an "easy" read for him. In conclusion, not our favourite Lobel, the story is a bit strange when you really think about it, but still an okay read. I love Lobel's illustrations and animal stories but prefer his earlier work.

I don't remember this story from when I was growing up, but my children and I found it on an audio collection of Arnold Lobel stories. It is a sweet book full of stories of Uncle Elephant taking care of his nephew. We all love to read/listen to Uncle Elephant.

This is the audio collection we found it on. We recommend this too!
Arnold Lobel Audio Collection CD