Little Nelly's Big Book by Pippa Goodhart illustrated by Andy Rowland

Have you read the folk tale about the six blind men and the elephant? Little Nelly's Big Book is a variation on that theme. Nelly is reading a book. She makes an amazing discovery:

Mice can be grey
Mice have big ears
Mice have skinny tails

It is so obvious Nelly is mouse! The book she is reading is a big book of words but with no pictures. Of course as a reader you can see Nelly herself reading the Big Book. Nelly is not a mouse she is a small elephant. Nelly does not know this. The book explains mice live in holes in skirting boards. Nellie lifts up a skirting board and finds the mice are at home.

"Er, you're rather a big mouse,' said Micky.
'I'm not!' said Little Nelly. 'If I'm a big mouse, why am I called little Nelly?"

Micky is not convinced but Granny mouse invites Little Nellie to join them. Things go well but Little Nellie doesn't feel entirely comfortable. Granny uses her laptop computer to do some research. The mice decide Nelly should visit the zoo and meet other 'mice' just like her.

The zoo is the perfect place for Nelly so Micky decides to take a look at the Big Book himself. He makes an amazing discovery:

Elephants can be grey
Elephants have big ears
Elephants have skinny tails

It all makes sense - Micky is an elephant!

The images in this picture book remind us that your outward appearance is not really important. What is really important in life is who you are and how you relate to the people who love you. Blog Curled up with a Good Book

This book celebrates being different and relishes the difficulty a large creature has in adapting to a small way of life. Books for Keeps

Take a look here to see all the books by Pippa Goodhart.  Sadly Little Nelly's Big Book was published in 2012 so it is now out of print but you might be lucky and find a copy in a library.

Here is another book I love about little elephants:

I would also pair Little Nelly's Big Book book with Fey Mouse by Hazel Edwards. Sadly this book is also out of print but I think many Australian Primary school libraries would have a copy.