Books like But No Elephants
By Jerry Smath
For the kid who loves collecting things and can't resist just one more pet, this taps right into that same soft-hearted weakness. Cozy, funny, and gently repetitive, with a warm old-fashioned charm.
A small boy is invited to tea at the palace and always asks the same question — may he bring a friend? — and each time, a surprising animal guest shows up beautifully behaved.
A lonely old man sets out to find one pretty cat but can't choose among the millions, billions, and trillions he finds on a hillside — so he brings them all home.
A retired schoolteacher receives a baby boa constrictor as a birthday gift from her son in Brazil and raises him in her French village, where he grows up to become a hero.
A mother cat leads her two kittens, Fluffy and Skinny, through washing, wall-walking, and claw-sharpening — while a third kitten, Boris, just naps through it all.
A tiny snail longing to see the world hitches a ride on a humpback whale's tail, and together they sail to icebergs and volcanoes — until the whale gets stranded and needs the smallest friend to save her.
A homeless dog living in a box in an alley writes letter after letter to every house on Butternut Street, pleading his case for a forever home.
After an owl attack knocks a baby fruit bat from her mother's grasp, she lands in a bird's nest and is raised alongside three baby birds, learning to live by their rules — until she finds her way back to her own kind.
A beloved dinosaur bakes cookies, helps old ladies cross the street, and plays with kids in town — while one boy, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie, insists she's scientifically extinct and shouldn't exist at all.
A bear wakes up from hibernation ravenous and thin, and as his forest friends bring him roots, berries, clover, and fish, his hunger keeps growing — until it's satisfied in a surprising way.
A foreign exchange student named Eric moves in with a suburban family, asking curious questions his hosts can't always answer, until his farewell leaves behind an unforgettable surprise.
When an enormous black dog appears outside the Hope family home, every family member panics and hides — until the youngest, tiniest member decides to walk outside and face it herself.
A lion wanders into the library one day, and since there aren't any rules against lions, he stays — quiet-footed, story-hour pillow, rule-follower — until an emergency forces him to break the one rule that matters.
