• Age: 5 to 8
• Grade: k to 3

My Big Embarrassing Elephant is a clever and funny picture book about how one girl goes about hiding a very literal elephant in the room, only to discover she may not need to disguise it at all.

Maya and her family have a problem. They try ignoring it, dancing around it, even sweeping it under the rug. Yet the elephant in the room remains. And Maya is at her wit’s end figuring out how to hide it from everyone. Then a new friend moves in next door, and Maya begins wondering if there might be a better way to deal with the whole situation?

Angie Lucas’s clever story about friendship in the face of overwhelming problems is given hilarious life by Sesame Street character designer Pierre Collet-Derby. A fun read-aloud for story time, bedtime, and anytime.

This empathetic and kid-friendly story is perfect for teaching lessons about how to deal with embarrassment.

Readers who like other compassionate books about social emotional learning, like The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfeld, The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig or Who Wet My Pants by Bob Shea will love My Big Embarrassing Elephant.

Angie Lucas' profile page

Pierre Collet-Derby's profile page

Angie Lucas is a children’s book writer who used to edit magazines, compose ad copy, and ghostwrite for tech CEOs. Now she writes little stories about big, embarrassing elephants; big, dumb, invisible dragons; and little boys who get lost in grocery stores. She firmly believes that sunlight is the best antidote to shame—and that it takes time, attention, and compassionate connection to tame an unruly elephant. A graduate of Utah State University, Angie lives with her precious patchwork family (she has one child through marriage, one through adoption, and one through birth), near Salt Lake City.

Pierre Collet-Derby is an author, illustrator, animator and character designer. When he's not working with the beloved characters of Sesame Street or making books for children, he loves playing jazz on his clarinet. He is the author of Barnaby Never Forgets, which received the 2019 Blue Spruce Award and he illustrated numerous other books. Pierre lives in Canada.