The Elephant and the Bad Baby by Elfrida Vipont illustrated by Raymond Briggs

I picked up a copy of this classic story from a library discard pile. I have read The Elephant and the Bad Baby (1969) to thousands of kindergarten children between 1985 and 2017. The story is terrific to read aloud because there is a chorus line which invites the children to join in "and the bad baby said yes and they went rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta, all down the road ... ". If you are making a list of books to share with your Kindergarten group or in a preschool you should add this title - and yes it is still available.

Publisher blurb: Join a playful elephant and mischievous baby in this timeless story of friendship and adventure. An Elephant meets a Bad Baby. And so begins a wild adventure - going 'rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta' down the road, and helping themselves to ice creams, lollipops, and all manner of sweet treats. But as a long line of disgruntled shopkeepers and salespeople begin to follow them, Bad Baby learns the importance of saying 'please,' and all the trouble you can get into if you forget! Packed with delightful illustrations and repetitive text, The Elephant and the Bad Baby is the perfect bedtime story for toddlers.

Here is the Kirkus review from 1969. Notice the intriguing word dirigibuilt. Read more about Raymond Briggs here. 

I did find this video which you could use without the sound as a way to read the book aloud to a larger group. I love all the things the elephant and the baby eat - ice cream, a pie, a bun, crisps (chips), and a chocolate biscuit. 

In this post, though, I want to feature the delightful art by Raymond Briggs.

British children's author Michael Rosen writes in his obituary on the death of Raymond Briggs: "I first became acquainted with Briggs' work as a parent when I read his books The Mother Goose Treasury and Father Christmas and Elfrida Vipont's The Elephant and the Bad Baby, which he illustrated. Briggs created landscapes, scenes, and familiar characters with a seemingly gentle comic ease. There were then – and still are for readers today – humorous corners and details that could amaze the child's eye, such as the tip of the elephant's trunk coming to the side from the right and grabbing an apple. 'There he is!' the children shouted."  The Guardian (Online) 11. August 2022