Being Quiet for Beginners

Important themes for young and old: listening and being considerate; being brave and growing as a person

Illustrated by Pina Gertenbach

It’s early morning on the savannah. Hannibal the little elephant trumpets loudly and wakes up all the other  animals. But he’s too busy to notice them all glaring at him – Hannibal is off to take a bath! He takes a run up, jumps into the pool and gives everyone a nice cold shower. Finally, when he eats up their breakfast, the animals decide they’ve had enough of the boisterous little elephant. Hannibal doesn’t know what he’s done wrong. So a little mouse clears her throat and explains to him that sometimes you need to be quiet and considerate in order to get along with other people. But soon they all learn that there are also moments when you need to be very loud indeed!

Important themes for young and old: listening and being considerate; being brave and growing as a person

Kai Haferkamp’s story is tongue-in-cheek but takes a sensitive approach

With wonderful illustrations by Pina Gertenbach that encourage children to look closely and discover all the little details