Elfie

This illustrated book for young children, written in both French and English, tells the story of Elfie, a young elephant who longs to be a ballerina. Her father agrees to let her take lessons if she can find some friends to join her. Hippy the hippo and Nosy the rhino agree. Tallie the giraffe becomes their teacher. They train very hard. They find a conductor, Storky, a marabou stork, and Storky in turns gathers together an orchestra. The grand finale is a ballet concert in the bush. Author and illustrator Patrick Texier has spent most of his life in Africa, and drew on his experience as a photographic safari guide to create "Efie" for his granddaughters. The text is in both English and French, juxtaposed to allow children or parents to read the story in either language or both. There are 32 pages, half of which are full-page color illustrations of Elfie and her friends.