The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars

A friend of mine recommended this to me, saying it was a little demented for a child's book. Boy, was he right!The plot is as follows: An elephant likes to smash small cars(although in one instance, it looks like he's attempting to have intercourse with one.) He's a car wrecking machine. One day, a car dealership specializing in small cars opens in the neighborhood and a whirlwind of car smashing destruction ensues. The dealer, his business obviously ruined, starts stocking large cars, too big for the elephant to smash. He then proceeds to repeatedly run over the elephant for the sole purpose of teaching him a lesson...I'm glad they finally reprinted this gem and I had the lady of the house read it aloud for my amusement. I took great glee in seeing her grow increasingly appalled as the elephant got his comeuppance. Anyway, the illustrations from the original edition are intact, as is the moral of the tale: "If you act like an jerk, sooner or later, someone is going to settle your hash for you."I wish my mom would have read this to me when I was a youngling. Funny stuff, even for adults.

Great book, great fun to read out loud to the kiddos.

Young children will enjoy this book. It is amusing and also shows them why they shouldn't be mean or selfish, yet in an endearing way. The elephant learns how to be a good neighbor

Good lesson. Somewhat simple illustrations but kids love it. Aggression and consequences. keep the aggression in fantasy embodied in an elephant that likes to smash small cars.

This one seems to offend modern sensibilities, but it was written 50 years ago. Thirty years ago it was one of my son's favorite library books, although I couldn't say why. He was four years old. Whether it was the inherent violence that appealed to the young caveman in him, the fact the bad elephant got retribution in the end, or something else entirely I will never know. I purchased a copy of the new edition and had my now 31 year old "boy" read it. He doesn't remember it at all, has no idea why he liked it, but admits he can see where he would have enjoyed it immensely. Go ahead, modern parents. Your children have enough of a grasp of reality to handle it. They won't run out and start hitting your elephant with toy cars. If they do, you have more problems than can be addressed in an Amazon review.

So pleased to have found this book. It was a favorite of my son when he was a youngster.

Wow...a great book for young children. I had used in my classroom years ago and it then was out of print for so long. Great to give with a small elephant and some cars so that the child can act it out as you sing the song in the book. They love it!

This is a wonderful, off the beaten path, children's book, and perfect for that toddler to kinder kid who struggles with impulse control.

Mir gefällt dieses (mittlerweile klassische) amerikanische Bilderbuch sehr - wenn auch auf den zweite Blick. Es geht um einen Elefanten, der den lieben langen Tag nichts lieber tut, als kleine Autos zu zerstören. Er hört erst damit auf, als der Autohändler ihn mit größeren Autos jagt, die er nicht zerstören kann.Was für eine absurde Story. Man könnte dem Buch schwarze Pädagogik vorwerfen, aber ich finde es einfach zum Lachen und erfrischend erzieherisch unkorrekt.Die Illustrationen sind auch heute noch aktuell und sehr zurückgenommen.

Great

Great fun and drawings

**Spoiler alert** Ordered this for my great-nephew's third birthday. The binding and paper are great quality. Art is simple, colourful. The tone, light and fun. However, the way the elephant learns his lesson is he gets smashed "absolutely flat" against a tree and a house. Then he gets booted to the sky and lands in a lake. True, he never gets hurt. Kinda like Wiley Coyote. Then again, those old Loonie Toon cartoons have been criticized for the violence. And the story goes against current messaging about bullying: If someone is being a bully, flatten them and they won't do it again. For some kids/families this might be fine, but for me, it wasn't an appropriate gift to someone else's kid. As my daughter (12) and I both said, "Poor elephant!" Kinda disappointed 'cause my daughter and I both love Jean Merrill's Pushcart War and Toothpaste Millionaire. Returned the book right away.