Just an Ordinary Elephant and The Bald Cardinal in Bloomington, MN

This book contains the 2nd and 3rd read-aloud Stories from Squirrel Hill. In the 2nd story--Just an Ordinary Elephant--Ellie (an elephant) learns from the goose Perfesser that he is just an ordinary elephant--nothing special. Ellie hears that all he needs to do to be special like African elephants is to stick his ears out wide and wear a straw hat. With the help of a clever wren, Ellie searches far and wide across Squirrel Hill for a hat that will make him special In the book's final story--The Bald Cardinal--Kitty has a talk with a bird about his baldness, and doesn't enjoy it one little bit. This second volume of Stories from Squirrel Hill follows the first story--Crossing Briar Woo--which introduces Madison and all the animals who live on Squirrel Hill. The books are designed to be read aloud to small children between four and seven. Reading them to a child is both interactive, and offers the reader's discussion with the child about what the meaning of a story might be. The stories are meant the challenge, but also captivate and encourage a child to make good use of their imagination.