I love this book! I've used it over and over again in story times. The rhyming text bounces along as the animals imagine what will happen if the elephant sneezes and beg him not to. Kids like the surprise ending too. Great story!

I still own the original weekly reader copy I received as part of the book club when I was in elementary school some few decades ago. I like the creativity of what happens to the animals more than the actual story itself.

I always enjoyed a very rhymey book and the kids were into the repetition.

This was one of my all time favorite books as a child. The thought of an elephant sneezing and causing a disaster is so funny as a child! All of the animals are still traumatized by the last instance in which the elephant sneezed and they beg him not to repeat it! The images went hand in hand with the ridiculous idea of an elephant having to sneeze and his friends begging him not to. The pictures were over the top and silly while still being realistically illustrated. The rhyming adds to the light hearted, goofy story as well. All aspects of the book complimented each other I felt. I think this would be a great pick for a read aloud story, the teacher has a lot of opportunity to make it come to life and be lively and silly.

Even though we may try to fight the inevitable, sometimes the cure is just as bad as the disease.

Hilarious, Lyrical, Delightful

In poetic form, a tale in the style of a fable where the animal kingdom tries to prevent a big problem. When negotiations break down, action is taken, but with unexpected results! Gestures would go great in a storytelling environment, plenty of vocabulary for younger audiences to learn and adults to appreciate. Highly detailed illustrations bring a lot of depth and dimension to the characters.

Genre: Poetry
Grade: PreK-3
This is a fun poetry book involving some cool animals and creating cool visuals. I enjoyed the comedy of this book a lot I think kids would find this book super fun!

First sentence: "Stand back," said the elephant, "I'm going to sneeze! I hate to alarm you, but I don't wish to harm you. My friends, I fear it's clear...oh, dear, you'd better stand back, I'm going to sneeze."

Premise/plot: ALL of Elephant's friends are super-concerned about the coming sneeze. And perhaps rightly so...considering their past experiences when elephant has sneezed! Every animal tells--in rhyme, of course--what happens when this elephant sneezes. But one animal has a plan...will it work????

My thoughts: I can relate to the protagonist in this one. I can. I have very LOUD sneezes--though it isn't so much gust as NOISE. (Spoiler alert, I also LAUGH really, really, really loud....again just like the elephant in this story.) I don't have personal memories of holding this book in my hand and reading it. But I do remember plenty of times when my mother has told me, STAND BACK, SAID THE ELEPHANT, I'M GOING TO SNEEZE. So I'm guessing that this one was read aloud to us plenty...I just don't remember.

It is written all in rhyme. I didn't love it or hate it. It's not as wonderful as say a Dr. Seuss book written in rhyme. But it wasn't dreadful either. (So many books that are written in rhyme tend to show the struggle author's have to force it. Forced rhyming just isn't fun for anyone, right?!)

Despite being a picture book with thirty-two pages, there is a LOT of text per page. So it wouldn't be inappropriate in a second or even third grade classroom. It would work as a read aloud, of course, but probably only for a child with a long(er) attention span. You could even ask questions throughout--what do you think is going to happen next? Do you think elephant is going to sneeze? do you think bees really crawl on their knees?! Or is the author being silly?!

Definitely recommend this one.

Written entirely in poem form, this book enchanted me as a young child visiting my Grandparents. In fact in 6th grade when we had to recite a poem for the class I chose this book- the entire book. Needless to say it is permanently engraved on the fiber of my brain forever.

The story follows an elephant who is fighting off a terrible sneeze and warns his friends to stay away. They panic and remind elephant of all of the humorously catastrophic things that happened before (Oh, please, not a sneeze cried the birds in the trees. The last time you sneezed we lost every feather. We didn't know whether we'd ever get back together. Every parakeet was as bare as a sheet from his head right down to his feet.) The elephant regretfully admits that he can't hold the sneeze in when a little grey mouse jumps out and scares the elephant right into forgetting his sneeze. Of course now he's laughing and it seems an elephant's laugh is just as bad as a sneeze. :)

A fun, laugh out loud book!

Our copy of this book is a Weekly Reader edition that belonged to my husband when he was little. Delightful art, bursting with personality and humor. The rollicking rhyme works well for this silly tale of animals begging an elephant not to unleash his powerful and destructive sneeze. A frequent read-aloud request from my younger children. (I admit: when the toddler is the sole requester, I usually only read the first couple of lines on each page. The book is a bit text-heavy for a two-year-old, but it entrances the five-year-old.)

This book has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. My mother tells me she never bought the book for me, even though it was my favorite, because I loved going to the doctor's office so I could read it. I don't know any kid who doesn't love having this read to them using different voices for all the animals. Try it for yourself and see.