Review: When the Elephant Walks

When the Elephant Walks                                

Keiko Kasza

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2004

Review by Agustina Veneziale

 Even the biggest and strongest animal feels frightened in ‘When the Elephant Walks,’ by Keiko Kasza. In this lovable animal story, every character is scared by another one. The simple plot of this book is accompanied by attractive and comic illustrations which young students will adore. By being read this story, children will learn an important message about fears.

When the elephant walks, a sturdy bear feels threatened and immediately runs away, scaring a crocodile. While escaping, the crocodile scares a wild hog who also scares a raccoon. As a result, a little mouse rushes in terror, and who do you think will be scared by this little mouse? In the last pages of the book, it is revealed that the mouse scares the main character of the story. 

 ‘When the Elephant Walks’ is a good story for teachers to work with, since it carries a valuable message. Young students can learn that everyone (whether big, small, strong or weak) feel fear of something, even of the silliest or smallest thing. The story also creates a good atmosphere in the classroom in which children can share what things scare them.

Soft colours and funny illustrations will catch children’s attention. They are painted with watercolours, a technique which characterizes Kasza’s paintings in all her books. Kasza’s appealing story is written in the present tense and it includes repetition of simple present statements. This repetition lets students anticipate what is going to happen and so they can participate actively when the teacher reads the story.

This book is perfect for story time in the classroom. It encourages young students to participate and its charming illustrations will catch their attention. In addition to this, the message given by the author shows children that fears are natural. Teachers can use the story as a trigger for sharing the fears that students experience in their lives. In this way, students will feel more confident and may overcome their fears.