No. 57 - Elmer

It's been a while since I posted anything on here. My personal life has been so busy, as well as working part time now too, so finding time to blog has been difficult! But I'm feeling in need of a focus right now, so here I am! 

I have been excited about this one because Elmer is one of my all time favourite elephants! In fact, he's one of my all time favourite characters, in one of my all time favourite books! I give you Elmer by David McKee!

This bright and vibrant tale of identity is a classic for a reason, it speaks to anyone and everyone, and the message is loud and clear - BE YOURSELF!

The story of Elmer was sparked by an incident in McKee's personal life, he told The Guardian in 2014. 

 "There was another family on the other side of the street and the boy said: 'Look, there's a nigger!' My daughter was upset. I thought, he's talking about my daughter. I couldn't believe it. She is darker skinned because her mother was Anglo-Indian, but my daughter is beautiful – as was my wife."

Devastated by this racist attack towards his family, McKee decided to write Elmer, and it has become a key book for teaching children about valuing each other's differences, about prejudice and indeed, racism. McKee took this theme into the other Elmer books too, writing about immigration, amongst other things, and in his early work Tusk Tusk, where he addressed both war and racisim. 

Elmer has even been hailed as an LGBTQ+ icon, something that McKee never had in mind when writing the books, but seems to have happened over time! And why not!? Elmer is all about acceptance and inclusivity, and celebrating the things that make us us. 

My favourite page is the one where Elmer has snuck back into the heard and is looking at all the boring, grey elephants. He suddenly realises how absurd it is to try and fit in! This of course, can be a big turning point in a person's life, and McKee pin points it exactly. There is a huge feeling of liberation and acceptance in Elmer's loud "BOOO!"

McKee had a knack of subtly weaving these themes into this work. It is obvious Elmer is all about celebrating difference, but it is not done in a way that makes it the main focus. Elmer is always the main focus. Children learn from Elmer's actions, not what is written in the text, and that is a very clever what of delivering a tricky message. 

Readers may well know by now that I love a fact! So here are some Elmer facts for you! 

• There are 22 Elmer books, and a lot more merchandise!
• There have been over 10 million Elmer books sold worldwide since it's publication in 1989.
• It has been translated into 50 different languages.
• There actually is an Elmer Day! It appears to be the last Saturday of May, so mark that calendar!
• In 2019 there was an Elmer stage show, with puppets!

For me Elmer will always be the fun loving elephant, proud of his colourful countenance. A happy chap, who holds friendship close, and is kind to everyone, no matter what. I am even more fond of him now I know what he means to other communities and where the initial inspiration came from. Every child should be read Elmer, infact everyone should read Elmer! The life lesson that can be taken from just those few picturebook pages is incredibly valuable. 

Thanks for reading, L x

Ps. Next up, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier