This book is a funny story about the things one should consider before catching an elephant. Young readers will enjoy the predictable storyline as well as the colorful illustrations. As an educator,I liked that the storyline contained a variety of new vocabulay words.
I would recommend this book for a 4-6 years old reading audience.

Funny story of a child going to catch an elephant and all that follows! I think littles are given quite a bit to think about in this short tale. I loved the idea of leaving the creatures in the wild- where they belong! The illustrations were a hoot!

This is such a sweet story and my three year old son LOVES this book. He loves elephants and loves the adventures the elephant and boy get into. The illustrations are adorable and it has such a sweet message. We will be reading this for years to come. Thank you NetGalley!

What a lovely and fun children's book! The illustrations are magnificent, vivid and colorful!
The text is perfect, engaging and funny!
The plot is based on nonsense humour just as the title is.
A great gift for children fom 4 on.

At the beginning, I was not sure I was going to like this book, because I did not like the idea of taking an elephant away from their free and natural habitat. Elephants are herd animals and family is very important to them. i liked how he did not adjust and needed to go back. it's a great story about leaving animals in their natural habitats but I don't like the idea this book presented like, if you want an animal, just go take one and bring him home. I was afraid it sends the wrong message, in general.

'To Catch an Elephant' follows the story of a little boy who is determined to 'catch' an elephant and make it his pet. I was quite appalled when I read the first few pages. I didn't like his bad natured intent of trapping the elephant and bringing it to his house. But the pages that followed it, was very heartwarming. I heaved a sigh of relief when he finally learnt to let the elephant go. It teaches us that the animals, like us, have their own home and family and that it is wrong to whisk them off from their wilderness just to satisfy our own selfish intents.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a cute book with instructions on how to catch an elephant, how to capture it and bring it home. Cute illustrations.

“If you want to catch an elephant, first you must find out where elephants live . . .”

And that is exactly what the little boy in the story did. He targets Africa for his destination country. His dream is to have an elephant as a pet. Can he achieve his goal? Will it be an easy task to find one, capture one, then bring one home to enjoy?

The little boy successfully nets a baby elephant. The elephant herd tries to rescue it but to no avail. The boy then transports his catch by a safari vehicle to the airport where a photo is an absolute must and of course the elephant will need a passport. He loads the pachyderm on a jumbo jet and a BIG truck awaits his arrival to ship them both to the boy's home.

Sadly the boy discovers that the little elephant doesn't fit into his new surroundings (literally), and the neighbours are not amused at his antics. The baby elephant isn't assimilating well and in his despair he refuses to eat. This makes the boy realize that it was a mistake to take him out of his natural habitat where he was carefree and ever so happy. The baby wants his family and his country back so much. He is heartbroken.

The boy has a hard choice to make. Should he carry on trying to look after the sad little elephant or should he give up his dream and take the baby back to his home in Africa? What is the right thing to do?

The illustrations are bright, action-packed and very kid-friendly. The message it leaves with the reader is: "Home is where the heart is" and the little elephant's heart is with his family and herd back in Africa, his rightful home for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. I received this in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not sure if its the copy I received or if I'm just not on the same "page" as the author but there seemed to be some errors in the book like the words weren't matching up with the correct illistrations and what does " h t e p s n t o t h e" mean (loc 15 of 39).

The book does have some potential my 4 year old wouldn't probably be interested but a 2 or 3 yo wold greatly laugh and listen to this fun story.

As a mother, I wouldn't be buying this book for my children.

To Catch an Elephant is about a boy who goes to Africa to catch an elephant to bring home. In the end, he realizes that the elephant is better being at home in Africa, in its natural habitat. The author seems to extend this idea to all animals at the end too. This story was okay, but it wasn't my favorite. I get that it was supposed to be silly, so the elephant being all tied up in dropped in a plane and things of that nature was not very realistic. However, I felt like the illustrations, writing level and comprehension level did not all match up. If there is supposed to be a moral or lesson here, I feel as though it would go right over my young childrens' heads because such an exaggerated form was used and young children have a hard time thinking more abstractly and being able to relate parables to more realistic situations. However, the length and depth of the stories as well as the pictures lean more towards that younger target audience.

To Catch an Elephant is a cute story with a good lesson at the end. The artwork is simple, but adorable. I found the writing style to be a little more complicated than I would expect from a children's picture book. From the cover and description I expected a book geared towards 4-7 year olds. The sentences do not have the rhythmic nature I would expect in a book of this kind and some of the vocabulary may be more advanced than the target audience would know. However, this does provide an excellent teaching opportunity. All in all, I would reccomend this book for anyone who enjoys nature and wants to teach their children to respect wild animals.
Thank you to Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for an impartial review.

To Catch An Elephant, written and illustrated by Vanessa Westgate is the tale of a boy and his quest for the pet of his dreams: a magnificent elephant. After finding that some elephants live in Africa, he travels there with the intent of bring one home with him, and he does. The transportation is tricky, the elephant is unhappy, the neighbors are perturbed, and the boy has an elephant doctor come perform a checkup on his new pet. What will the elephant doctor recommend? What will become of the elephant?

To the parents of any child who brings creatures home with the “Can we keep it?” plea, this book should be in your family library.

A meaningful message is imparted to readers: Wild animals belong in the wild with their own kind and in an environment that supports them. The boy elephant-catcher comes to realize this and experiences a sense of loss upon returning the elephant to Africa, but understands that it’s in the best interest of the animal he loves. This is a wonderful story for children three or four years and up and elephant lovers of all ages. It’s colorful child-like illustrations are charming and fit the tale very well.


Thanks to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest and unbiased. #NetGalley #ToCatchAnElephant

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To Catch an Elephant by Vanessa Westgate....What a precious story!!
I read this story to my Grandkids- twins age 7 and son age 4. They enjoyed the story so much they wanted a repeat!!
The story line was very special and the illustrations was superb!! I felt like they did make is so that the older children could still enjoy the story too!
The story is well written is illustrations are fabulous and really cute!
Hope to find more fools from this author.
Thanks Net Galley for sharing this book!

Very cute book. Nice illustrations and the text really fitted the target audience. I liked how the story became realistic and how the boy had to bring the elephant back. It shows compassion and understanding.

“To Catch an Elephant” is a book about how to trap an elephant and bring it home with you to live as a pet. My two (almost three) year old loved this book and requested it to be read a second time. The way the book is written, it almost reminds me of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. The important message at the end is that wild animals belong wild and free. While I thought the writing and illustrations were just okay, the true critic (my toddler), thought it was great and would probably recommend it to all her toddler friends. This may be one we have to add to our library.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute story that the boys I nanny loved and asked me to read over and over again. The illustrations are just as good as the story itself. I am grateful (and so are the boys I care for) that I had the opportunity to read an ARC from Netgalley in return for a honest review. If you are looking for an adventure book that has an underlying story about learning what you want to do is sometimes not the best thing for everyone or everything and finding a way to make it right then this is the book for you. I can also say that boys at the age of 3 and 4 years old love this book!

My kids absolutely loved this book! My son's favorite color is yellow, so this book definitely kept him interested. I was able to keep the both entertained while reading and there is a lot of opportunity for interaction.

I read a lot of children's books and thoroughly enjoyed this one. I will be ordering it when it becomes available, I think the kids will get a big kick out of it.

A cute book about what happens when you have an elephant. The childlike illustrations are perfect for this book.

To Catch An Elephant is a children’s fiction book written and illustrated by Vanessa Westgate. A blue-haired boy from a Western country checks his atlas for elephant habitats. Soon, he’s stepped off a plane in an exotic land with strange trees and monkeys. He’s wearing his pith helmet and safari suit, sunglasses and binoculars. Elephants located, he baits the trap, hides and waits for the big blue elephant to be caught.

The elephant goes with the boy back to the Western country: plenty of silliness here with a trussed elephant poking out of a safari vehicle, getting a photo and a passport, and travelling on a jet. At the boy’s home, the elephant doesn’t fit (in more ways than one). With some help, the boy understands that the elephant doesn’t belong so it’s back to the exotic country and the challenge of finding the elephant’s herd so he can be where he does belong.

A bit more silliness as boy and elephant part (elephant tears, really?) so “in the end, you would realise how happy animals are living wild and free.” The illustrations are charming, and the (not-at-all-heavy) message of home, family and where we do (and don’t) belong comes through loud and clear. Cute and colourful.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Clavis Publishing