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8th out of 49 books
—
33 voters
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
The last time the elephant sneezed, he blew monkeys out of the trees, stripes off the zebra, and spots off the leopard. This rollicking new edition of the favorite nonsense verse again shows the panic that follows the elephant's dreaded announcement.
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
April 23rd 1990
by HarperCollins
(first published 1971)
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Oh no! Look out! The elephant thinks he’s going to sneeze! This sends the other animals into a panic. The last time the elephant sneezed the birds lost all their feathers, the stripes flew off the zebra, and the monkeys fell out of the trees. The elephant tries, but he really can’t help it he’s about to sneeze. And then at the very last second out pops a mouse with a deafening, “BOO!” The elephant is so scared that he forgets to sneeze! The animals think they're saved, but then the mouse explain...more
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...more
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...more
Jul 05, 2011
Donna Crane
added it
The tension builds for young readers as the animals relate in dramatic fashion the LAST time the elephant sneezed. "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 to his feet" we read as the elephant writhes in agony, trying to suppress the inevitable windstorm. There's the hippopotamus who will fall right on its bottom-us, the bear who'll lose all his hair...you get the picture. Then out ju...more
I grew up having this book read to me and now I get to read it with my kids. It rhymes, though it isn't as rhythmic as I'd like it sometimes. The pictures are fun and the storyline is nonsensical and amusing. Lots of fake sneezing happens during the reading of this book.:-)
The elephant, of course, is going to sneeze. (Actually, there are youtube videos of elephants sneezing and not much happens because of it, but realism isn't the point, now is it?) So he warns everybody, and they start giving these long (long! don't read this book to a kiddo with a short attention span!) pleas, reminding him of the disaster that struck the LAST time he sneezed - the bear went bare, and all the hippopotamuseses fell on their bottomuseses, the feathers fell off the birds and the fl...more
This was a childhood favorite (my parents’ copy was falling apart for years, but they still have it, the spine held together with duct tape) and for Valentine’s Day, my mother sent me a reissued copy. So I re-read it for this packet. No wonder I loved it as a kid. It’s hilarious—all about an elephant who realizes he needs to sneeze, and the animals who plead with him not to because of the horrible things that happened last time. So instead he starts laughing, and he chortles so long and loud, th...more
This is super cute! I was surprised Julia got as into the illustrations as she did, just because of the more reserved tone but she really, really enjoyed them. She devoured each page. I'd be lying if I said I didn't do the same.
The story is one of the few that really can make you LOL. In a time when this little term, three little letters, make everything seem so darn funny, this story really is.
We read in the back of the book that this was Patricia Thomas' first book! I'm going to have to see...more
The story is one of the few that really can make you LOL. In a time when this little term, three little letters, make everything seem so darn funny, this story really is.
We read in the back of the book that this was Patricia Thomas' first book! I'm going to have to see...more
“Stand Back” Said The Elephant, “I’m Going To Sneeze!” written by Patricia Thomas, is a funny, rhyming story. Each animal in the book tells a story about what happened the last time Elephant sneezed. After each animal tells him why he should not sneeze, a little mouse scares him and the elephant doesn’t have to sneeze anymore. However, the elephant finds it so amusing that a little mouse could scare him that he laughs and laughs. He laughs so hard that all the things the animals were afraid of h...more
My favorite children's book of all time, this one is sure to have everyone cracking up.
Jun 28, 2011
Melissa
added it
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,...more
This book has been a long time favorite at our house. I'm reviewing it today because I want anyone reading this review who has young kids to get a copy! I read it to my Kindergartener's class today and even though it's a long-ish book, they were completely engrossed in it and laughed and laughed at the end. It is such a wonderful book all about what happens in the jungle when an elephant sneezes. The rhyming is fantastic and it's even fun to use different animal voices as you read it...i.e. bees...more
If we could give it a thousand stars we would. My Aunt Jo gave Emily this book when she was a baby and it is our favorite book. I know it by heart and we've read it thousands of times and still giggle and laugh every single time!!! One of the most special memories Emily and I will always have....Aunt Jo gave me the best gift anyone could have given. It was never meant to be just a book :-)....so smart and thoughtful Aunt Jo!!!!
"Stand Back," Said The Elephant, "I'm Going To Sneeze!" was a great book. This book can be used in a lesson about rhyming words. The children can write the ryhming words they or clap when they hear them. Writing the words on the board as they are found and later finding the ending that makes them ryhme is another hands on idea. I believe it is an attention getter and the children will love a chance to be involved in the lesson.
This is the first book that I can ever remember reading. My grandma would read to me in the day when she babysat me and she had a bag of books that we would read from. There are quite a few but this one stands out as my favorite in my memory. When I got older, my grandma gave me the bag of books and now my own children have read them as well. I hope they inspire the love of reading as they did to me! 5 stars!
This book was my absolute favorite when I was little as well as my mother's when she was growing up. A few years ago I went out of my way to find a copy of this book to give to my mother for Christmas because our copy had gotten lost somewhere along the way. I fully intend to have a copy on hand when my own children are old enough for bedtime stories.
Oct 15, 2011
Relyn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
teachers, parents, kids
Recommended to Relyn by:
Kelly Schmitz
Shelves:
lawsonland
This is marvelous, wonderful, fantastic book. My friend Kelly loved this as a child and brought it out to use in our writing lessons. This is an excellent example of a cumulative tale and humor, among other things. I want a copy of my own to use with other classes. It's fantastic.
I think this was my favorite book as a kid. It was the one book I sought out to read to my kids. They weren't as impressed, perhaps it's the graphics that aren't as vibrant as today's books, but I love the rhyming, flow, and funny twist at the end.
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!
The was THE book of my childhood. I can't count the number of times I read it. I used it for a presentation of children's books in my high school speech class. It was held together with duck tape. I only wish I had it now.
Still one of my favorite books of all time. Everything the animals fear will happen when the elephant sneezes happens anyway, and he doesn't even sneeze. The alligator's snout turned inside out is hysterical!
My Mom read this book to me when I was a kid, and I love reading it to my children now. It's such a funny, engaging story, and . . . if you take the time to create voices for the characters, it is all the more fun. ;)
This wonderful piece of rhyming verse is reminiscent of Dr. Suess in its short phrasing and rhyming text. Wonderful fun to read aloud as the animals' reactions to coming sneeze are quite comical. Good book.
Wonderful "advanced" easy reader. Darling, funny illustrations and bright, imaginative verse. Love the vocabulary it contains (not to mention the fun homophone "Nothing's so sad as a bear that is bare").
Awesome children's book with that difficult trifecta of great illustrations, lovely poem, and a joy to read aloud. My five year old laughed his way through this one.
It is a long rhyme, and quit funny but maybe a little to long for story time
Knowing the havoc it will cause, all the animals try to prevent the elephant from sneezing.
Knowing the havoc it will cause, all the animals try to prevent the elephant from sneezing.
A childhood favorite, that nobody could read better than my older sister, Heidi, who had the perfect excitable speech impediment. A must for every child.
love this book! it's a rhyming book and rather graphic in what happens to all the jungle animals when the elephant sneezes. highly recommended.
Dec 19, 2009
TuRtLeFaEiRe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to TuRtLeFaEiRe by:
mom bought it when i was a kid
My favorite book to read growing up! I love the way the author described everything in such fine detail. Will read to my kids if I ever have any.
We got this book at the library and Van LOVED it! We read it every night we had it out on loan. I am thinking I will have to go find it and buy it.
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, and I've kept my copy all these years in preperation for when I will read it to my kids.
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Patricia Thomas is the author of Firefly Mountain; There Are Rocks in Socks, Said the Ox to the Fox; The One-and-Only, Super-Duper, Golly-Whopper, Jim Dandy, Really Handy Clock Tock Stopper; and Stand Back, Said the Elephant, Im Going to Sneeze, featured on the PBS Storytime series. Thomas graduated from Penn State University and has worked as a writer and editor in practically every area of the a...more
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Jun 28, 2011 11:04am