One of the things about Pleistocene – or ice-age – Malta that seems to most surprise visitors, is the idea that sometime between 500 and 200,000 years ago, pygmy elephants roamed these lands. At less than a metre tall, they’d have been nose-to-nose with a two-year old, or should that be nose to trunk?
And now, a new Maltese elephant The Eletrump has landed in the heart of the Anthropocene age, in a new book designed with an eye for the tinies in town. Her name a charming mispronunciation (rather like ‘heffalump’ which was coined by the real Christopher Robin), this friendly character adventures through the pages in gender neutral soft purples, orange and pretty candyfloss colours accompanied by a perky yellow bird friend who peers through bushes, flies the blue sky, swims amongst underwater coral bedecked in a diving mask.
“The Eletrump started with a dream − literally. One night, I dreamt of the opening lines of the story,” smiles Naomi Gatt, the author-illustrator of this new book for babies and toddlers which is available in both English and Maltese.
“When I woke up, I quickly wrote them down, and from there, the rest of the story fell into place. The illustrations followed suit, bringing the world and characters to life in a playful, whimsical way.”
“When the publisher asked me for a Maltese version to release alongside the English one, it was really exciting.”
Publishing the book, in both English and Maltese simultaneously, as two separate books not as a bilingual publication, was a first for Merlin Publishers who are best known for their focus on Maltese-language publishing.
However, “when Naomi pitched this project to us, we all fell in love with it,” explains Chris Gruppetta of Merlin Publishers.
“We wanted to stay faithful to our mission but we didn’t want to let go of the English so we thought, why not publish it in both. And The Eletrump is such a cuddly creature, at the office we all fell in love with her too!”
“Merlin Publishers also suggested that we turn The Eletrump into a touch-and-feel book, which was a completely new experience for me,” continues Gatt.
“Designing the layout to incorporate the tactile elements added another creative layer to the process.”
“Touch and feel board books have real benefits for toddlers and tiny children,” he adds.
“The different textures on the pages of these books encourage interaction and active exploration, while supporting a child’s tactile development. Reaching out to stroke the different textures on each spread helps strengthen a baby’s finger muscles and improves their coordination as well as teaching them or reminding them of concepts like soft, rough, bumpy or smooth.”
With soft heart-shaped ears and a curling trumpet-like trunk, Eletrump is a musical elephant, her trunk a trumpet that would be a great addition to any band club. Her beautiful sounds add to the different colours, shapes and textures in a multisensory experience for tiny tots as the unusual musical motifs add together into an engaging clap-along chorus.
The finale is a humorous suggestion for a toddler, that’s guaranteed to generate a reaction!
