''Elmer the Patchwork Elephant'' (often shortened to Elmer) is a children's

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

series by the British author David McKee.

The books

''Elmer'' was first published by Dobson Books in 1968, and re-issued with re-drawn illustrations in a slightly shortened version by

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

in 1989. It was inspired by the mascot of the Bordeaux zoo (which closed in 1974) in France. The books are published in the United Kingdom by

and were published in the United States by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

originally, Andersen Press USA now publishes in America. Forty-one book titles have been created since 1989, and the series has sold more than eight million copies in fifty languages around the world. Satoshi Kitamura carried out the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

translation. Kim yang-mi carried out the Korean translation.

Themes

Elmer is an

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

with yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, black and white squares arranged as a

patchwork Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...

. He has a cheerful and optimistic personality, and he loves

practical joke A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

s. The stories are suitable for early exploration of

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

. One day, Elmer decides that he wants to look like all the other elephants as he is tired of being different, and paints himself grey in order to 'blend in'. Once painted, the other elephants and jungle creatures no longer recognise him. He returns to the herd and the other elephants stand quietly until Elmer can't take the quiet any more. He lifts his trunk and then, at the top of his voice, shouts "Boo!", which unknowingly surprises the other elephants. The other elephants immediately realise that the grey elephant must be Elmer and applaud him for his best joke ever. When it begins to rain, the grey paint that Elmer has covered himself with starts to disappear, and Elmer's "true colours" are revealed, much to the delight of his friends, who preferred his multicoloured and fun loving personality. Following their happy reunion, the elephants reassure Elmer that they love him because of his differences, and not in spite of them, and they celebrate by painting themselves in multicoloured paint (and Elmer paints himself elephant colour), in recognition of Elmer's unique appearance and personality.

Merchandise

''Elmer the Patchwork Elephant'' also features in a wide range of merchandising. His first story is also featured and animated in ''Anytime Tales'', a storytelling animated programme narrating five of David McKee and Tony Ross' stories. The story of Elmer was originally narrated by British voice actor

Johnny Morris Johnny or Johnnie Morris may refer to: * Johnnie Morris (actor) (1887–1969), American comedian and actor *Johnny Morris (television presenter) (1916–1999), British television presenter * Johnny Morris (footballer) (1923–2011), English footbal ...

, who died on 6 May 1999, aged 82.

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...

also read his first story which was also animated by Mike Hibbert in an episode of '' Words and Pictures'' from 1993, featuring the letter E.

Musical stage

A musical stage version created by Jonathan Rockefeller was adapted by Suzanne Maynard Miller, with songs by Allison Leyton-Brown. After an initial engagement in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(December 2017), ''Elmer the Patchwork Elephant'' show embarked upon a tour of the UK in January 2019.

Titles

* 1. ''Elmer'' (1989; originally published in 1968) * 2. ''Elmer Again'' (1991) * 3. ''Elmer on

Stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...

'' (1993) * 4. ''Elmer and Wilbur'' (1994) * 5. ''Elmer's Colours'' (1994) * 6. ''Elmer's Day'' (1994) * 7. ''Elmer's Friends'' (1994) * 8. ''Elmer's Weather'' (1994) * 9. ''Elmer in the Snow'' (1995) * 10. ''The Elmer Pop-Up Book'' (1996) * 11. ''Elmer and the Wind'' (1997) * 12. ''Elmer Plays Hide and Seek'' (1997) * 13. ''Elmer and the Lost Teddy'' (1999) * 14. ''Elmer and the Stranger'' (2000) * 15. ''Look! There’s Elmer'' (2000) * 16. ''Elmer and Grandpa Eldo'' (2001) * 17. ''Elmer’s

Concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

'' (2001) * 18. ''Elmer and

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'' (2002) * 19. ''Elmer’s New Friend'' (2002) * 20. ''Elmer and the

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

s'' (2003) * 21. ''Elmer's Jigsaw Book'' (2003) * 22. ''Elmer and

Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

'' (2004) * 23. ''Elmer and Rose'' (2005) * 24. ''Elmer and Aunt Zelda'' (2006) * 25. ''Elmer's Baby Record Book'' (2006) * 26. ''Elmer and the

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'' (2007) * 27. ''Elmer's First Counting Book'' (2007) * 28. ''Elmer's Opposites'' (2007) * 29. ''Elmer and the Big Bird'' (2008) * 30. ''Elmer's Special Day'' (2009) * 31. ''Elmer and Papa Red'' (2010) * 32. ''Elmer and Super El'' (2011) * 33. ''Elmer, Rose and Super El'' (2012) * 34. ''Elmer and the

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s'' (2013) * 35. ''Elmer And The

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'' (2015) * 36. ''Elmer's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

'' (2015) * 37. ''Elmer and the Race'' (2016) * 38. ''Elmer and the Flood'' (2016) * 39. ''Elmer and the Tune'' (2017) * 40. ''Elmer's Walk'' (2018) * 41. ''Elmer's Birthday'' (2019) * 42. ''Elmer and the Lost Treasure'' (2020) * 43. ''Elmer and the Bedtime Story'' (2021) * 44. ''Elmer and the Gift'' (2022)

Reception

The stories are suitable for early exploration of the themes and issues relating to the concept of

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

. 28 May 2016 was declared Elmer's Day by publisher

. Libraries and bookshops across Britain held Elmer themed events.

References

* https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/ELMER-THE-PATCHWORK-ELEPHANT-To-Embark-on-UK-Tour-20181025 * https://www.elmertheshow.com/

External links

UK publisher website

US publisher website
{{Authority control Children's fiction books British picture books Series of children's books Children's books about elephants 1968 children's books 1989 children's books Andersen Press books Literary characters introduced in 1968