Poignant Uncle Elephant Shows How a Bond May Form Despite Creaks and Wrinkles

I fear I am nearing the end of as-yet-unread Arnold Lobel books. He died when he was only 54, and it pains me to think of how many more brilliant stories he could have written given the time. Happily, the stories he did write and illustrate stand up to multiple readings, just as fresh, funny and poignant as the first time around.

Leaning more heavily toward the poignant side than usual is Uncle Elephant, a collection of nine stories ranging from five to eight pages. Atypically, these stories closely follow one another chronologically, to an extent that the partitions hardly seem necessary. In another unusual move for Lobel, the book is written in the first person, from the perspective of a young elephant who believes he has been orphaned after his parents are lost at sea.

Enter Uncle Elephant, a distinguished and elderly (he remarks in a couple of stories about his wrinkles and creaks) relative who invites the narrator to stay with him following the unhappy event. Because of the youth of the speaker, the sentences are even simpler than usual for an I Can Read book, though Uncle Elephant's speech has definite traces of sly sophistication.

Each story title starts with the words Uncle Elephant and is followed by three words describing a key action that will occur in the next few pages. I especially like how the book comes full circle, beginning with Uncle Elephant Opens the Door and ending with Uncle Elephant Closes the Door.

Uncle Elephant is an eccentric stranger to our narrator when they meet, but he becomes a trusted friend through his gentle knack for knowing just how to win his nephew's favor and keep his mind off his sadness. He may have "more wrinkles than a tree has leaves ...than a beach has sand ...than the sky has stars," but Uncle Elephant knows how to have a good time, from making extravagant wishes on a "magic lamp" and trumpeting the rosy dawn from his vibrant garden to wearing all of his clothes at once and writing a song just for him and his nephew.

The book has an old-fashioned feel to it, with the rusty red and green tones and the lack of modern implements. Though the book was written in 1981, it feels like half a century earlier, with trains, telegrams, oil lamps and elegant clothing. The setting just adds to the charm of a tender tale about friendship and family in which two characters at either end of the age spectrum find both.