Product Description

The Elephant takes the Bad Baby for a ride and they go 'rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta down the road.' They help themselves to ice creams, pies, buns, crisps, biscuits, lollipops and apples, and the shopkeepers follow them down the road shouting and waving. All ends well as the Bad Baby learns to say 'Please' and his mother makes pancakes for everyone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2066 in Books
• Published on: 1971-08-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Review
What better than an elephant with a thieving trunk and impeccable manners! "Would you like a ride?" and "Would you like an ice cream?. . . a meat pie?... a bun?" the Elephant asks the Bad Baby, proceeding to steal from every tradesman in town. ("And they went rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta, all down the road, with the ice cream man, and the butcher, and the baker, and the snack shop man all running after.") "`But you haven't once said please! You haven't ONCE said please!' Then the Elephant sat down suddenly in the middle of the road and the Bad Baby fell off" and their pursuers piled up behind - and they were all equally appalled. "PLEASE! I want to go home to my mother" - who asks if they've come to supper ("Yes, PLEASE") and whips up pancakes for everybody. "Then the Elephant went rumpeta, rumpeta. . . . But the Bad Baby went to bed." As good as it sounds, it looks even better - you have only to see the dirigibuilt Elephant to suspend disbelief, while the townsfolk fare no better than those who made sport of The Bear on the Motorcycle. A hugely amusing turnout altogether, thank you. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
The Elephant takes the Bad Baby for a ride and they go 'rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta down the road.' They help themselves to ice creams, pies, buns, crisps, biscuits, lollipops and apples, and the shopkeepers follow them down the road shouting and waving. All ends well as the Bad Baby learns to say 'Please' and his mother makes pancakes for everyone.

About the Author
Elfrida Vipont worked as a teacher, singer and writer. She wrote over 30 books and won the Carnegie Medal in 1950 for Lark on the Wing. Raymond Briggs has produced wonderful children's books including the classic titles The Snowman, Father Christmas and When the Wind Blows -- all made into immensely successful films. Raymond lives in Sussex.

Customer Reviews

Awful
I've never given a bad review, however out of all the books my 3 year old has this has got to be the worst....yes the pictures are good - but the use of the word 'bad baby' doesnt sit with me well....Why are we saying the baby was 'bad'? Because he didnt say thank you or pay? I really think there are lots of books out there for children which make better use of the English language than this one...bad baby - it's awful!

English for Austrians
I've just read this to two twelve-year-old Austrian girls and they loved it and wanted me to read it again. It's an excellent story because it appeals to the older mind as well as to the small child, and also because the English is simple and so repetitive the foreign language learner can hear, understand, learn and enjoy. Of course, it also emphasises the cultural lesson of English people having to say please all the time.

Charming, but not for all children
I think this is a lovely book, the illustrations are beautiful and witty, and I've read it to my daughter since she was about 6 months old, but it's never really taken hold of her. She's never asked me to read it (she's 18 months old now, and demands a lot of books - not this one), and she will only sit through all of it at bed time. The only bit she really likes is where the bad baby falls off and loses his stash. The four stars is from the five I would give it, minus one because my daughter doesn't like it, and I guess her opinion counts. What I'm saying is, it's not a sure thing, despite the good reviews.