30. The Littlest Elephant. Katherine Applegate. 2026. 36 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book, animal fantasy]
First sentence: Nobody ever listens to the littlest elephant. And around here, the littlest elephant is me. When you're the littlest elephant, they call you things like "Buttercup" and "Ru-Ru" and "Twizzletrunk." Even though your name is Ruby.
Premise/plot: Ruby is the littlest elephant. But she's growing, growing, growing. Her new tusks are a sign of her growing up. Ruby is conflicted. She doesn't know if she wants to do the growing up. What if she wants to stay the littlest elephant. The book is about a celebration of her growing her. And Ruby doesn't want to do the remembering bit that is encouraged by the older, wiser elephants.
My thoughts: I liked this one well enough. I love the middle grade novels in this series. I do. I don't love the picture books as much. Well, that's not quite true. With this one, the audience is definitely older readers. Dare I say it's best for adult readers? That it is more a book for adults to appreciate? It is text heavy. I can't see the story appealing unless you've already read the middle grade novel(s). The themes are mature--not because of content but because they are deeper in a philosophical, reflective way. I liked it.
© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
