Elmer and Butterfly by David McKee

Elmer and Butterfly by David McKee
Buy Elmer and Butterfly by David McKee at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Jo Heffer
Summary: All children who love Elmer, the patchwork elephant, will know that he is an extremely kind and helpful elephant. In this delightful book, Elmer helps his small friend the butterfly. But when Butterfly offers to help him in return, if he ever needs him, Elmer can't possibly imagine how such a small creature could ever help a creature as big as him. Little does he know, he is going to have to call on Butterfly for help much sooner than he would ever imagine.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: May 2012
Publisher: Andersen
ISBN: 9781842709382
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One day, Elmer, the patchwork elephant, is out walking when he heard a cry for help. It's his cousin, Wilbur, playing tricks and because of this, when Elmer hears a second cry for help he is tempted to ignore it. Luckily, he doesn't though, as this time the plea is for real as Butterfly is trapped behind a fallen branch. It does not take Elmer long to set his small friend free and, of course, Butterfly is enormously grateful. Anxious to return the favour, Butterfly promises to repay Elmer one day and tells him just to call if help is needed. Elmer thinks that is highly unlikely and, as he goes on his way, he chuckles:

A butterfly saving and elephant, that's a good one!

At the same time, he notices a narrow path leading off the main one and decides to investigate. Unfortunately, the path leads along a cliff and becomes so narrow that there is no room for the sizeable Elmer to turn round. He finds himself stuck in the cave at the end of the path and has no option but to call for help. Luckily, there is a very small friend listening out for him and ready to help. But what can Butterfly do? She may be tiny but she definitely has a plan.

David McKee has written yet another charming Elmer story to add to our collection. It's a lovely simple tale and one that illustrates how important it is to help others with small acts of kindness. My daughters loved the way that little Butterfly was able to help his large friend and echoed one of the lines in the story:

Fancy a butterfly saving an elephant!

There is also a good deal of humour in the story with Elmer's mischievous cousin Wilbur and also in the bright colourful illustrations. Elmer fans will recognise the bold style with in the pictures and enjoy the comical looks on all of the elephants' faces.

As in all the Elmer books, the language used is quite straightforward which would make this a suitable book for newly confident readers as well as for sharing with younger children. There is also quite a large amount of text on some pages, compared to some picture books, which means that the story has quite a bit of detail. Alongside this enjoyable story are the entertaining illustrations which makes it all adds up to a very satisfying read.

Why not take a look at Elmer and Papa Red also by David McKee?

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You can read more book reviews or buy Elmer and Butterfly by David McKee at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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