The Sand Elephant

by Rinna Hermann

Paul has no one to play with. The sandbox is empty. Or is it? As he digs and pats the sand, a shape an elephant. Curling up under the elephant's warm, sandy trunk, Paul drifts off to sleep. But then something amazing happens. The sand elephant stands up, and lifts Paul onto its back! The sand elephant takes Paul to a wonderful land where incredible sand animals and their children are laughing and playing together. But what will happen when the wind starts to blow and the rain starts to fall? In this delightful celebration of the power of childhood imagination, Rinna Herman's story combines with pictures full of vibrancy and charm by acclaimed illustrator Sanne Dufft. This gentle story reassures children that friends from our imagination stay with us forever, so we need never feel alone.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Christi M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul was alone in the sandbox. He has no one to play with so he etches out a large elephant in the sand. Slowly sleep overtakes him as Paul wishes the elephant were real and could play with him. But he doesn’t get to sleep too long before the elephant wakes him up to play. The sand elephant lets Paul ride on his back as they travel to very large sandcastle filled with other children Paul can play with. However, soon it begins to rain and Paul and his new friends get worried about the sand elephant and all the other creatures who had been at the sandcastle. But, water can’t truly hurt sand elephants because they and many other creatures can always be remade.

To me, the book highlights or focuses on two main themes: The first is creativity and imagination. At first. the sand elephant and large castle open the door to a young reader’s mind by showing them what can happen if they ‘pretend.’ Once the rain occurs the story then begins to show readers how they can extend their imagination and create new things no one has seen before, such as an elephant with large rabbit ears.

The second focus of the story is to show children to not despair when things look bad – to look for that silver lining. This is demonstrated by the elephant’s reassuring the children that not everything is as bad as it seems. The rain may have come and washed all their play away, but that just means they can rebuild again into something even better.

All in all, I found it a lovely book to read, and comes to full circle again at the end as the elephant and Paul go back to sleep. The only thing I wish it had included was another couple of fun examples after the rain had come of funny looking animals or even inanimate objects that aren’t quite right – a bicycle with wings, or a tree that grows lollipops.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Floris Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul outlines the shape of an elephant in his sand box, and is delighted when his sand elephant comes to life and takes him to the magical Sandcastle Land. There he meets other children and their sand animals, and they all play together in the castle. But a storm blows up and and washes the sand flat, and the children must call to their sand animals to revive them.

I loved this whimsical and imaginative story! It speaks to me so strongly of my childhood playing with imaginary animal friends in a fairy tale castle. Anything can happen in a child's world of dreams.

The elephant is such a robust and steady character, and I love how he leads Paul through all their adventures. The whole story is just delightful!

I like the beautiful illustrations and how the speckled sand takes shape. Each scene is designed with whimsy and creativity. The only thing I didn't like was the human character's hands. The hands look lumpy and strange somehow. Sometimes their arms look misshapen or they are held at weird angles. It distracted me and pulled me out of the story.

Overall, this is a fun and creative story that I enjoyed very much!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in German, this picture book boasts lovely illustrations created with watercolors and seemingly filled with sand. The story itself is one with which many youngsters can relate as young Paul falls asleep in his sandbox after making a shape in the sand. The boy is lonely and longs for a playmate, and as it turns out, that's just what he gets as the form he has fashioned turns out to be an elephant who comes to life. After waking Paul, the elephant takes his new friend off of several adventures where he meets other sand creatures and children. Even when the weather becomes threatening and the sand creatures disappear, Paul learns about a way to make them come back to life. The story itself is charming as it pays tribute to the imagination of a child while offering reassurance that one need never be bored even when he/she thinks he/she is all alone. Teachers and caregivers might share this one with little ones to encourage imaginative play and storytelling.

[Ari]

A beautiful imaginative book about the wonder that is the children's mind.

The book takes us on a journey through a dreamscape filled with friendship and adventure.
The illustrations are beautiful and the entire book gives that dreamy vibe that makes you wish to cuddle with a stuffed toy (or a child).

Perfect for reading before bedtime!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming story with lovely illustrations about the power of childhood imagination. Originally published in Germany.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got to the end and just felt meh, like what was the point?

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of a young boy who draws an elephant in the sand because there is no one else to play with. Using his imagination, the boy brings the elephant to life and they have adventures together.