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Synopsis
Elmer celebrates the uniqueness of each individual when he meets a new girl elephant — who happens to be pink!
Grandpa Eldo asks Elmer and Wilbur to help a young elephant find her way back to her herd — and they get a shock when they see she is pink! No wonder she is called Rose. But there is an even greater surprise in store when they reach her herd — because every single one of them is pink!
Children's Literature
Elmer, the multicolor patchwork elephant of several other stories, is talking to his black and white checkerboard cousin Wilbur when Grandpa Eldo summons them. A shy, pink elephant named Rose has wandered away from her herd. Eldo wants them to take her back home. As they follow the track, they meet an ordinary looking gray elephant that Rose calls "strange." Along the way they play games and tricks as shy Rose blushes frequently. When Rose hears her herd up ahead, she tells Elmer and Wilbur that she will go on alone, since her whole herd is very shy, and they will find the other elephants unusual, particularly the gray one. At first they think she is joking but the joke is on them. Her whole herd is pink. Eldo wanted them to see that so they would realize that, unique or not, they can all be nice. The very simple story is enlivened by the colorful characters, but even more by the fantastic colors and forms of plant life in the jungle. There is fresh vegetation with every page turn; funny animals as well are more naturalistic but with anthropomorphic smiles or actions. The final double page is covered with Elmers, making him far from unique, in contrast to the end pages of solid pink. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz