My Blue Elephant, A Story Of A Pet That Never Was

Reading has been an integral part of my life, and the one thing that I always wanted to pass on to my kids. Luckily when Heer was little I developed a habit of reading bedtime stories to her and she quickly took a shine to it. Soon I realised she was actively participating in the reading sessions, not by reading herself but by asking about certain words, meaning and also likely scenarios that could happen next. And with this, each of our reading sessions became more and more interesting. 

As she grew her love for stories, curiosity for characters and ability to read took her from being a listener to a reader. Every once in a while she would want to get new books and soon a little library was created. After a year or so of random buying, we set up an amazon account for her to surf and pick 2-3 books she wanted each month.



This month she has been extremely tied up with her school projects and wasn’t able to pick any new books. As luck was on our side she received an author copy of a charming picture book about a little girl who has a big secret. It’s a story about the girl’s pet elephant, that no one knows about. However, the challenge for her is to keep it hidden in her room, and the big question that looms before her is whether she will be able to hide him for long? 

My Blue Elephant is a gorgeous book by Vidya Varadarajan, with beautiful rich illustrations by Zainab Tambawalla, published by Scholastic. 

When Heer read the story for the first time, I was awestruck with the creativity of the storyline, especially how the little girl takes the reader through this unrealistic yet real journey with her not-so-little pet, within the tiny walls of her bedroom. My Blue Elephant is a delightful pacy read, enabling the reader to fully engage with the heart-warming story. The simplicity in the narrative makes it interesting to comprehend while the rhythmic balance makes it easy to remember. The usual recall value of a children’s picture book is the illustrations, however, with ‘My Blue Elephant’ the rhymes are what will remind you of the flow of the story. My Blue Elephant makes for a perfect bedtime tale and you won’t want to put it down even at the end. 

My Blue Elephant is a book that stimulates a child’s thoughts through a story. What do you think happened with the pet elephant in the end? Do you think the little girl’s mother found out her secret? To know get your copy from Amazon India here. 

Until next time,
~ Heena