Books published by publisher Laughing Elephant

Lewis Carroll’s duo of novels about a girl named Alice and her surreal adventures have been popular since their publication in 1865 (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) and 1871 (Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There). Neither book has ever been out of print. But many parents find the originals too difficult for young children, and thus the publication of many simplified and abridged versions of Alice. Our Alice in Wonderland Picture Book features illustrations of several major episodes of the story from Italian mid-century illustrator Maraja. Accompanying these vibrant images is a very simple text. It serves as a marvelous introduction to Carroll’s world of marvelous madness.

J.M. Barrie’s story of Peter Pan has a vast and permanent appeal. The story of Wendy, John and Michael Darling, visited by a magical boy who believes only in play–and who never grows old–has appealed to children since its creation as a stage play in the early 20th century. In it children take flight over London, visit Never-Never-Land, meet mermaids, fairies, a vengeful crocodile, pirates, and, of course, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell.

George Trimmer (the creator of our Farm Babies) has here created a picture book of zoo animals, which we think perfectly suited for young children. The emphasis is on the animals in a family setting, without bars or zookeepers. Lion babies relax with their mother and father on one page, while a zebra colt frolics with a parent by moonlight on another, while a baby elephant endures a bath on still another page. The text is simple, and is accompanied by delightful smaller images. This is a book for the earliest readers and parents to share.

The popular tale of a disobedient rabbit and his misadventures in Mr. McGregor’s garden is here presented in a colorful midcentury adaptation. Peter and his rabbit family are delightfully presented in human attire, and illustrator Ruth E. Newton mounts the familiar tale of adventure, several near escapes from danger and maternal justice with skill and charm.

This is our sixth reproduction of a shaped children's book, and our fourth illustrated by Margaret Evans Price. Price has certainly proved popular with our customers, and for good reason. Her illustrations are pretty and fanciful. She is especially gifted at depicting children in a stylized yet not cartoonish manner. In The Betty Fairy Book (1915) a little girl ? Betty ? inadvertently angers the fairies by wearing a fairy crown that she finds and dancing ?on fairy ground?. The fairies decide to banish her to a boat, on which Betty bravely faces several hardships. Betty's courage endears her to the fairies, who relent and take Betty to fairyland where she is cared for and given gifts. Betty comes away from her adventure with fairy souvenirs and new friends. This charming tale is richly illustrated and will appeal to both children and sentimental adults.

Kitty's ABC Shape Book is a reproduction of an 1890 book featuring cats and kittens in an alphabetic parade of charming adventures. This eccentric tale of a beautiful "A for Angora" cat who overcomes jealousy and buckets of water to find love and happiness is beautifully illustrated with cats playing banjoes, getting married, singing in a choir, and many other whimsical activities. This tender love story is highlighted with verses such as: "T stands for Trouble now over and past, and The Triumph of True Tender hearts at The Last," and "V is the Vanity Fluffy displays, When on a Visit her kittens you praise." The Victorians' love of cats is on full display in this fine addition to our popular series of shaped books.

Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you.Let me hear you whisper that you love me too… Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a book-length valentine using the words of the beloved 1910 song as the text. It is illustrated on every page with a beautiful vintage valentine from the Laughing Elephant's vast treasure trove. Let Me Call You Sweetheart is die cut, like an over sized Valentine's day card, and is in the same format as the Laughing Elephant's popular line of die cut, shaped, books. Crafted to look like a lovingly filled out scrap book, with hand written text, Victorian scraps and Valentine's and the sweet words of the song hand written in old fashioned cursive, replete with an elaborate border area for personal inscription. Let Me Call You Sweetheart will make a stunning Valentine’s Day gift for those times when a card just isn’t sufficient.

""Would that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony.""The iconic story of the beautiful Snow White and her eventual triumph over a particularly evil Queen is filled with colors and their powerful symbolism, and in this version – illustrated by Beth Livings in 1937 - the colors are strong and saturated, and the illustrations are rendered in a flat, almost naïve style. They are beautiful yet straightforward, and thus mesh well with this abridged version of the Grimm tale.