“What are the best Children’s books about Elephants?” We looked at 181 of the top Elephant books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 32 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Kids Elephant” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 125+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 32 Best Children’s Books Featuring Elephants

32 .) Barley the Elephant written by Paul Bachmeier

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

31 .) Brave Baby Elephant written by Sesyle Joslin

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

30 .) Elephants Cannot Dance! (Elephant & Piggie, #9) written by Mo Willems

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Gerald the elephant is certain that he cannot dance but his friend Piggie convinces him to try.

29 .) Elephants in the East (Animal Ark, #25) written by Lucy Daniels

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

28 .) Elephants of Thailand: The Smiling Elephant written by Aston Heath

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

27 .) Ella the Elegant Elephant written by Carmela D’Amico

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Ella is nervous about the first day of school in her new town, but wearing her grandmother’s good luck hat makes her feel better–until the other students tease her and call her names.

26 .) Elmer written by David McKee

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

All the elephants of the jungle were gray except Elmer, who was a patchwork of brilliant colors until the day he got tired of being different and making the other elephants laugh.

25 .) Five Minutes’ Peace written by Jill Murphy

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Mrs. Large tries to take a peaceful, relaxing bath but her family has other ideas.

24 .) How Big Is an Elephant? written by Rossana Bossù

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

23 .) How the Elephant Got Its Trunk written by Jean Richards

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Because of his curiosity about what the crocodile has for dinner, a little elephant and all elephants thereafter have long trunks.

22 .) I’ve Got an Elephant written by Anne Ginkel

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Content with one elephant then pleased to have two, a girl begins having problems as her lonely pachyderms bring home more and more friends throughout this rhyming counting book.

21 .) Little Elephant Thunderfoot written by Sally Grindley

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

A baby elephant learns to feel secure with his grandmother, the head of the herd, until shots by poachers change his world.

20 .) Little Elephants written by Graeme Base

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

When a family’s wheat crop is threatened by locusts, tiny flying elephants come to the rescue.

19 .) Never Mail an Elephant written by Mike Thaler

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

The narrator has trouble mailing an elephant as a birthday present to Cousin Edna.

18 .) Never Ride Your Elephant To School written by Doug Johnson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

A humorous account of the disadvantages of bringing an elephant into the classroom.

17 .) Ollie the Purple Elephant written by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Ollie the purple elephant is delighted to move into the McLaughlin family’s New York City apartment but their cat, Ginger, is not pleased and devises a plan to send Ollie away with the circus.

16 .) Pigs Make Me Sneeze! (Elephant & Piggie, #10) written by Mo Willems

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Softonic

Gerald believes he is allergic to his best friend! Will he have to stay away from Piggie forever?

15 .) Strictly No Elephants written by Lisa Mantchev

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

A boy is excluded from joining his friends’ pet club because of his unusual pet.

14 .) The Elephant Who Couldn’t Forget written by Faith McNulty

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

Young elephant learns that he must remember what to forget.

13 .) The Elephant’s Tale (Animal Healer, #4) written by Lauren St. John

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

A fourth prophecy, this time involving elephants, comes true for eleven-year-old Martine, an orphaned South African girl with mystical healing powers over animals, when she and her grandmother are faced with losing the Sawubona Game Reserve forever.

12 .) The Eleventh Hour written by Graeme Base

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

An elephant’s eleventh birthday party is marked by eleven games preceding the banquet to be eaten at the eleventh hour; but when the time to eat arrives, the birthday feast has disappeared. The reader is invited to guess the thief.

11 .) The Saggy Baggy Elephant written by Kathryn Jackson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

A little elephant’s worries about his wrinkles are solved.

10 .) The Story of Babar written by Jean de Brunhoff

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

An orphaned baby elephant goes to live in the city with an old lady who gives him everything he wants, but he eventually returns to the forest where he is crowned king of the elephants.

9 .) The White Elephant written by Sid Fleischman

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

In old Siam, young elephant trainer Run-Run and his old charge, Walking Mountain, must deal with the curse of a sacred white elephant.

8 .) There Is a Bird on Your Head! (Elephant & Piggie, #4) written by Mo Willems

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Softonic

Gerald the elephant discovers that there is something worse than a bird on your head– two birds on your head! Piggie will try to help her best friend.

7 .) Tweak Tweak written by Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• NY Times

While out for a walk, Mama Elephant answers her child’s questions about a monkey, a frog, a songbird, a butterfly, and a crocodile, all the while teaching about Little Elephant too.

6 .) We are in a Book! (Elephant & Piggie, #13) written by Mo Willems

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Softonic

Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends?

5 .) When the Elephant Walks written by Keiko Kasza

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2

When the Elephant walks he scares the Bear who runs away and scares the Crocodile who runs away and scares the Wild Hog in this never-ending animal story.

4 .) Babar and His Children written by Jean de Brunhoff

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2
• Softonic

With the birth of triplets, King Babar and Queen Celeste experience the pleasures and pains of parenthood.

3 .) Dumbo: A Little Golden Book written by Walt Disney Company

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2
• Softonic

A little elephant with enormous ears becomes the star of the circus.

2 .) Horton Hears a Who! written by Dr. Seuss

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2
• Softonic

A city of Whos on a speck of dust are threatened with destruction until the smallest Who of all helps convince Horton’s friends that Whos really exist.

1 .) The Magician’s Elephant written by Kate DiCamillo

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Goodreads 2
• Softonic

When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day and she tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures as he desperately tries to find her.…

The 125+ Additional Best Kids Elephant Books

4 Best Children’s Elephant Book Sources/Lists