Weighing the Elephant

by Ting-xing Ye

In a small Chinese village lives a baby elephant, Huan-huan. The evil Emperor issues an impossible puzzle: the villagers can save Huan-huan only if they can deduce how much it weighs. A child comes up with an ingenious, scientifically sound answer.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Ting-xing Ye, author of the best-selling memoir, A Leaf in the Bitter Wind, was born in Shanghai, China, in 1952, the fourth of five children born to a factory owner and his wife. At sixteen she was “sent down” to a prison farm during the Cultural Revolution, spending six years there before being admitted to Beijing University. She took a degree in English Literature, then began a seven year career as English interpreter for the national government in Shanghai. Ye came to Canada in 1987. She has been a child-care worker, bank clerk, and secretary. She published her first picture book in 1998. She also writes Young Adult fiction and non-fiction.

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read aloud for our maths today on weight.

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story for children with great art work -

[Pynteya Bate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a little boy who has a young elephant as a friend. When the Chinese Emperor takes the elephant away to become part of his stable elephants, he tells the boy he can have the elephant back only if he can tell him his exact weight. By using logic, the boy outsmarts the emperor and gets the elephant back. It was a fun read and the kids would love the pictures because they are so colorful.

[Cpt_bean]

Clothes in the illustration is messed up with different eras..