Elmer the Patchwork Elephant is a children's picture book series by the British author David McKee. They are published in the United Kingdom by Andersen Press. Over 20 book titles have been created since 1989, and it has sold nearly 5 million copies in 40 languages around the world. The Japanese translation was made by Satoshi Kitamura. The character has also been turned into a children's TV series.
Elmer is an elephant who has a colourful body, with yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, black and white arranged as a patchwork. He has a cheerful and optimistic personality, and he loves practical jokes.
The character features in a wide range of merchandising.
The Story of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant is suitable for an early exploration of the themes and issues relating to the concept of Diversity, as Elmer discovers that when he tries to change his appearance in order to "blend in" with the other elephants, they no longer recognise him, or accept him as one of their own. This makes Elmer sad, and he experiences how it feels to be treated like an outcast, after being ostracised by his old friends. It's only when it begins to rain, and the grey paint that Elmer has covered himself with starts to disappear, that Elmer's "true colours" are revealed, much to the surprise and delight of his friends, who much preferred his multicoloured and fun loving persona. Following their happy reunion, the elephants reassure Elmer that they love him because of his differences, and not in spite of them, and they celebrate by painting themselves in multi-coloured paint, in recognition of Elmer's special and unique appearance, and his fun loving personality.