Up, Up… Elephant! by Alex Eeles (illustrated by Alan Rogers, as credited on the cover) is a Green band reader in Cambridge Reading Adventures for Class 2 at Lahore Grammar School (LGS). The cover shows an enormous purple elephant standing in a jungle pond among lily pads, with a small striped figure beside him.
It is a warm story about a problem and a creative solution, told in a way that Class 2 children can read for themselves. In the 2027-28 session, it adds a rainforest setting, contractions in speech and a pattern of three tries that children love to predict.
What happens in the book
According to the teaching notes, Sim comes across an elephant with a problem. She tries a variety of ways to help, until finally she finds a way that the elephant can give rides to his friends. Sim’s reward is a bird’s-eye view of the rainforest, as she gets the first ride. The story uses a traditional tale structure of repeated episodes with the resolution on the third repetition, but with natural language patterns for the conversation between Sim and the elephant.
Contractions in direct speech (‘I’m’, ‘What’s’, ‘can’t’, ‘didn’t’, ‘Let’s’) and time phrases (‘Every day’, ‘This time’) appear throughout. Long words like ‘enormous’, ‘exploring’ and ‘favourite’ need children to find the parts of the word, and synonyms for ‘said’ (‘asked’, ‘sobbed’, ‘laughed’) show feelings more precisely. The literary phrase ‘and off she ran’ is on page 5.
What your child learns from it
The publisher’s teaching notes list these learning outcomes. A child who reads this book can:
- track accurately across multiple lines of print without pointing;
- solve new words by identifying known chunks within words, while attending to context and grammar;
- discuss character motive and explain reasons for actions.
How to read it together at home
The guided reading lesson printed in the book gives a simple routine you can follow:
- Give your child the book, read the blurb together, and ask them to predict what the book will be about and whether it is fiction or non-fiction, giving reasons.
- Say: in this book Sim comes across an enormous elephant on her daily walk. The elephant is very upset. Let’s find out why.
- On page 3, point out the word ‘enormous’ and read it in three parts, e / nor / mous, then check what it means with the picture.
- On page 4, ask your child to find the part where the elephant says why he is crying and to tell it back in their own words.
- On page 5, rehearse the literary phrase ‘and off she ran’ by reading it aloud and finding it in the text.
Fun learning links beyond the book
For geography, Sim gets an aerial view of the rainforest. Children could look at aerial views of their own area on a map app and create maps and images of a familiar place seen from above. For science, Sim uses the elephant’s trunk to climb onto his back: what is an elephant’s trunk really for? Explore it using non-fiction books and websites, and even write a short fact page.
About the Green band
Green band is a step for confident early readers, with longer texts and more demanding vocabulary.
Who, when, where and why
Whom: Class 2 children (about seven years old). When: during the 2027-28 session. Where: at school, at home and on a map. Why: to practise tracking text across lines, solving long words and discussing why characters act as they do. Lahore Grammar School campuses follow almost the same book list, but a few campuses use their own list for some subjects. Send us your child’s campus on WhatsApp and we confirm the title before we dispatch.
Frequently asked questions
How is the story built?
In three repeated attempts, with the solution on the third.
Who illustrated it?
Alan Rogers is credited on the cover.
What band is it?
Green band.
Ready to order? Send us a WhatsApp message with the class and school, and we will confirm availability and dispatch Up, Up… Elephant! carefully packed, with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan. Prefer to see it first? Our Lahore shop is open to visitors.
