all about african elephants

ISBN-13: 978-0-325-01692-4
ISBN-10: 0-325-01692-5
w w w.heinemann.com
Nonfiction
 Level K
 Book 85
All About Series
by Michael Christopher
African
Elephants
All About
LLI_Elephants_0496_COV_rev.indd 2-3 1/11/08 4:07:09 PM
ISBN-13: 978-0-325-01692-4
ISBN-10: 0-325-01692-5
w w w.heinemann.com
Nonfiction
 Level K
 Book 85
All About Series
by Michael Christopher
African
Elephants
All About
LLI_Elephants_0496_COV_rev.indd 2-3 1/11/08 4:07:09 PM
Glossary
A frica o
ne of Earth’s continents
p rotect
to keep safe
t ough
strong or hard

t usks l
ong, pointed teeth
w rinkled
covered with lines or folds
All About African Elephants
Author: Michael Christopher
Heinemann
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801–3912
www.heinemann.com
Offices and agents throughout the world
Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention Books
Copyright © 2009 by Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and Heinemann
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission
in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be mailed to the Permissions
Department at Heinemann, 361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
ISBN-13:
978-0-325-01692-4 ISBN-10: 0-325-01692-5
Editorial Development, Design, and Production by Brown Publishing Network
Credits
Photographs: cover © Mschalke/Dreamstime.com; back cover, pp. 2–3, 8, 9 © Nightowlza/
Dreamstime.com; pp. 1, 4–5 © Satara910/Dreamstime.com; p. 6 (inset) © Can Stock Photo Inc.,
2007; pp. 6–7 © Zigmund LesZczynski/Animals Animals; p. 10 © Patti Murray/Animals Animals;
p. 11 © Werner Layer/Animals Animals; pp. 12, 14–15 © Roger De La Harpe/Animals Animals;
p. 13 © Mmphotography/Dreamstime.com; p. 16 © Peter Lillie/OSF/Animals Animals.
Printed in China
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LLI_Elephants_0496_COV_rev.indd 4-5 1/11/08 4:07:10 PM
Glossary

A frica one of Earth’s continents
p rotect to keep safe
t ough strong or hard
t usks long, pointed teeth
w rinkled covered with lines or folds
All About African Elephants
Author: Michael Christopher
Heinemann
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801–3912
www.heinemann.com
Offices and agents throughout the world
Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention Books
Copyright © 2009 by Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and Heinemann
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission
in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be mailed to the Permissions
Department at Heinemann, 361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
ISBN-13: 978-0-325-01692-4 ISBN-10: 0-325-01692-5
Editorial Development, Design, and Production by Brown Publishing Network
Credits
Photographs: cover © Mschalke/Dreamstime.com; back cover, pp. 2–3, 8, 9 © Nightowlza/
Dreamstime.com; pp. 1, 4–5 © Satara910/Dreamstime.com; p. 6 (inset) © Can Stock Photo Inc.,
2007; pp. 6–7 © Zigmund LesZczynski/Animals Animals; p. 10 © Patti Murray/Animals Animals;
p. 11 © Werner Layer/Animals Animals; pp. 12, 14–15 © Roger De La Harpe/Animals Animals;
p. 13 © Mmphotography/Dreamstime.com; p. 16 © Peter Lillie/OSF/Animals Animals.
Printed in China
09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 RRD 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LLI_Elephants_0496_COV_rev.indd 4-5 1/11/08 4:07:10 PM
by Michael Christopher

African
Elephants
All About
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2
3
Introduction
This animal has a trunk and tusks.
It has wrinkled skin and big ears.
It has big feet with pads on the bottom.
It lives in Africa. It is an African elephant!
tusks
trunk
big ears
big feet
wrinkled skin
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Africa
= where African
elephants live
4
5
Elephants are the biggest animals living
on land. They can weigh as much as a truck!
The biggest elephants live in Africa.
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6
7
An Elephant’s Body
An elephant has a long trunk. The

trunk is an elephant’s nose and lip. But an
elephant also uses its trunk like a hand.
An elephant can pick up a tiny leaf or a
big branch with its trunk. Sometimes an
elephant uses its trunk to take a shower!
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8
9
All African elephants have tusks. Tusks
are long teeth that don’t stop growing. These
elephants use their tusks to dig holes. They
also use them to carry things. An elephant
will even rest its trunk on its tusks.
African elephants have big ears.
On hot days, elephants flap their ears
to cool off.
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8
9
All African elephants have tusks. Tusks
are long teeth that don’t stop growing. These
elephants use their tusks to dig holes. They
also use them to carry things. An elephant
will even rest its trunk on its tusks.
African elephants have big ears.
On hot days, elephants flap their ears
to cool off.
LLI_Elephants_0496.indd 8-9 1/11/08 4:08:02 PM
An elephant’s skin is wrinkled. It looks
very tough, but it is not. Elephants can get

bug bites and sunburns. An elephant protects
its skin by covering it with mud or dirt.
Elephants have big feet with pads
on the bottom. The pads let the elephant
walk quietly.
10 11
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An elephant’s skin is wrinkled. It looks
very tough, but it is not. Elephants can get
bug bites and sunburns. An elephant protects
its skin by covering it with mud or dirt.
Elephants have big feet with pads
on the bottom. The pads let the elephant
walk quietly.
10 11
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An Elephant’s Life
Elephants eat about 300 pounds of food
a day. They eat grass, plants, fruit, and
parts of trees. Elephants reach high with
their trunks to get the best leaves.
Elephants cannot talk, but they do make
sounds. Elephants roar, rumble, growl, and
make a sound like a horn. They also make
some very low sounds that people
can’t hear.
12 13
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An Elephant’s Life
Elephants eat about 300 pounds of food

a day. They eat grass, plants, fruit, and
parts of trees. Elephants reach high with
their trunks to get the best leaves.
Elephants cannot talk, but they do make
sounds. Elephants roar, rumble, growl, and
make a sound like a horn. They also make
some very low sounds that people
can’t hear.
12 13
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Female elephants and babies live in
family groups. An older female elephant leads
the family.
Elephants are very good mothers.
They take good care of their own babies.
They also watch out for the other babies in
their group.
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More Elephant Facts
✸ Elephants can call to each other
from miles away.
✸ Elephant babies suck their trunks.
✸ Elephants can live for 70 years or more.
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