The Elephants' Ears

The illustrations are colorful and the story is touching. All mothers can relate to the worry of the mother elephant because her children are so different, just as human children in one's family are different. The two little elephants are guided to find their own place in the world, just as we guide our own children and/or students to believe in themselves as individuals and to know it's okay to be their own unique selves.I have used this story in my own family as a gift to a grandson who was adopted from India. I also used it in my Kindergarten classroom to introduce the countries where elephants are found in the wild (although sadly there are no more wild Indian elephants) and to discuss how to tell the differences between African and Indian elephants.

It's difficult to pin down what brings forth the magic of this magnificent book - the poetry in the simple, unpretentious prose, or in the sympathetic, perfectly accomodating illustrations. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Chambers, and I will scour the shelves for her other works. My kids loved this book, and I fell in love with it as well.The story is about Palo and Mala, a pair of twin elephants who couldn't be more different. Palo is gentle, almost timid, and loving. Mala is wild, carefree, and energetic. The twins' mother is concerned that she won't be able to find a life suitable for the two of them. By book's end, we find that it is acceptable to embrace our differences, rather than attempt to stifle them. The elephant twins are to be given their own, very different settings for their very different lives, and the reader soon learns that all elephants will be the recipients of their good fortune.This book touches the children on so many levels. Not only are kids taught that we can be different and still be loved, but we can also be important for our differences. The kids may wind up learning a bit about how to tell the difference between Indian and African elephants, too, if they're not careful!An exceptional book for every child's shelf.