Stand back, said the elephant, and read some books
Can we read? No. 130
Happy Thursday!
Hazel’s Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells (1985)
When Hazel’s mother gives her a nickel to go buy something nice for their picnic, Hazel wheels her doll, Eleanor, all over town gathering a small, yummy feast — until she makes a wrong turn, and another, and another. When she finds herself “on a lonely hilltop in a part of town she had never been before,” things go from bad to worse — three bullies show up and begin to play with Eleanor, tossing her around until she’s in tatters. A heartbroken Hazel cries, “Mother, I need you!”
All the way across town, something tells Hazel’s mother her girl needs her, and in a freak moment, the wind whips Hazel’s mother, her picnic blanket, and a dozen tomatoes over the village and deposits her right into the tree under which the unfortunate situation is unfolding. She booms down on the bullies, “Wait just a minute!” and throws a tomato at the worst of the offenders. She remains in the tree, and in the greatest literary depiction of motherly justice I’ve ever read, terrifies the bullies into fixing the doll, leaving her daughter alone, and learning their lesson.
(My mom used to read this to me — this is my childhood copy, in fact — and I still remember the delight in her voice when we got to this part. Don’t we all, as mothers, secretly fantasize about raining fire and brimstone — and tomatoes — upon anyone who hurts our children, especially when it involves ill-behaved and impertinent little shits like these bullies? Just me?)
Wells is a grand storyteller and illustrator and her body of work is large, but this one is the best of her best.
Being Home by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Michaela Goade (2024)
In this quietly heartwarming tale, a young Cherokee girl says goodbye to all the familiar comforts of the place she has called home her entire life — her swing, her house, and the city that surrounds her — and hits the road with her Etsi, her mother, for a permanent change of tempo, “a new path.”
The narrative here is understated — it took me a few reads to fully understand that this little girl is moving back to her people’s ancestral lands, to her family and animal relatives and, thankfully, another swing — but it’s no less powerful because of that. If anything, Sorell’s spare text invites the reader further into what’s happening, and when coupled with Goade’s always-outstanding illustrations, rendered here in watercolor, colored pencil, pen, gouache, and digital techniques, it’s a beautiful journey.
This ode to Native family — and the love that awaits us when we return home — is a lovely read.
Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper (2013)
When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to tell me that when we were apart, if we both looked up at the night sky, we could remember we were under the same moon. (He also used make me the offer, when he was tucking me into bed on the nights I spent at his house, “I’ll dream of you if you dream of me.” He died when I was 17 and I have never been the same.)
Those memories make Max and the Tag-Along Moon both lovely for me to read, and difficult. The premise is much the same: one night as they are parting, Max and his grandfather look up at the moon together, and his grandpa says, “That ol’ moon will always shine for you… on and on!” Max watches the moon out the car window all along the “swervy-curvy” ride home as it “plays peekaboo,” bounces along, but stays quietly with him. When the moon disappears Max doubts his grandfather’s words and crawls into bed, missing his loved one, missing “that tag-along moon,” until very slowly, his room fills “with a soft yellow glow.”
Floyd’s fuzzy, moonlit illustrations go well with this fuzzy, moonlit story, which is as gentle and calming as a lullaby — a loving (and lovely) reminder to children, without saying so directly, that they are held by the moon’s light, as well as the light of love.
Stand Back, Said the Elephant, I’m Going to Sneeze! by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp (1971)
Do not let the fact that this book is 53 years old deter you: this delightful and humorous story about an elephant who warns his fellow jungle animals of an impending sneeze — creating a whirlwind of concern and chaos — is a lively and engaging read for the 4-6yo crowd.
Thomas’ whimsical rhyming text has a steady beat full of forward momentum that serves to build suspense, not to mention read-aloud pleasure. This, coupled with Tripp’s black-and-white pen and three-color illustrations, adds to the sense of rising panic — just what exactly is going to happen when this elephant sneezes?!
You’ll have to read this one to find out, but I’m pretty sure you’ll have fun in the process.
REMINDER! Every effort you make toward reading to the children in your life matters. It doesn’t have to be perfect. (I personally think it’s better when it’s not.) Just the fact that you’re doing it counts for a whole heck of a lot. So keep doing it. It’s a gift.
Sarah
We are Rosemary Wells stans in our house! Just placed a hold on Hazel's Amazing Mother 🥰
Max and the Tag-Along Moon 🥹 even little Olivia loves this one and point’s to Max’s Grandpa and says “Appa.” Her word for Grandpa. It gets me every time.