17 Kings and 42 Elephants

Have you ever read something and just known that the author had a ball writing it? That's this book. This is very rhythmic and heavy on word play. It would be good to read this in a chant-like tone. Best for a young or young-at-heart audience. I loved it.

I like word-play, rhyme, and rhythm as much as the next mom, but this one just didn't do anything for me. The style of the illustrations was fun, but again, not quite special enough for me to recommend the book. I will say 2.5 stars though, for the tiger page - now that one was cool.

This is a short story book that would be great for teachers to use for math. It would be great to read when you are planning on introducing division to the class. It also would be a great book to read to get your kids attention and even could use it for math to just introduce counting at a simple level. Overall this book is great to read to the class. The illustrations are bold and are very engaging for young readers.

17 kings sing and dance their way through the jungle on the backs of 42 elephants until the "deep dark jungle" swallows them. Their mysterious destination is not as important as their obvious joy in the journey; the characters are not asimportant as the rollicking language. Review from Amazon

4-8 years old
Best Illustrated Children's Book 1952-2019
CCBC Choices 1987