With Christmas coming (NO, don’t shout, please!), here might be a great book for younger car enthusaists in your life.
The stories of Roger the Elephant and his many companions in adventure are the brainchild of writer Pete ‘PJ’ Phillips and his friend, illustrator Sara Jearally. Dipping into any of these delightfully written and charmingly illustrated tales is a wonderful way to fuel your child’s creativity and love for reading.
Whether they are practicing their very first words, mastering spelling challenges, or splashing colour onto the pages with Roger the Elephant, these books blend education with endless entertainment. They’re perfect for curious minds and active hands over the summer, while also offering the ideal focus for wind-down time with cosy bedtime stories.
This year the creative team have taken their – and Roger the Elephant’s – love of adventure to a new level, with this road trip across America with his old friend Phileas Hogg.
The ‘Roger the Elephant’ books tell the tales and adventures of Roger and the friends he met as he travelled the world as the most famous circus elephant. Animals love performing for people but over the years people have realised maybe circus animals can have more fun in the wild with their friends and family So, all the circus animals like Roger are now retired from the circus.
Roger now spends his time spinning his antique globe to decide where to go and travelling around the world visiting the old friends he previously made and getting up to all sorts of mischief.
In this just-published adventure, Roger teams up with his old pal Phileas Hogg to travel the great American Highway Route 66. The book has been endorsed as part of the Route 66 centenary celebrations.
“The world of “Roger the Elephant” grew from my own desire for travel and adventure,” explained Roger’s creator, author PJ Phillips. “When planning a motorbike trip to Turkey with my friend and illustrator Sara Jearally, we created an imaginary friend to accompany me, and so we met Roger the Elephant.
“At the time we were creating a YouTube channel for the trip – “The Unconventional Retiree”- but soon Roger’s concept started to grow!” He continues: “Roger the Elephant – “The World’s Most Famous Circus Elephant” (now retired) – will be an ongoing series of children’s picture books. We are releasing them first self- published via our publishing company Wondrous Books. But Bumblebee Books have the rights to two other books – “Roger Goes Home” and “Roger Visits Father Christmas” – both of which should be released this year.”
Pete and Sara are also delighted that their new book ‘Roger Rides Route 66 with Phileas Hogg’ has been certified by the Route 66 Centennial Committee as part of the official one hundred years of Route 66 celebrations this year.
PJ and Sara have big plans for the ‘Roger the Elephant’ series, and interest from some exciting directions: “We are also working with a TV producer Bryan Taw via Voyage Media based in LA to create a ‘Roger the Elephant’ children’s TV show but obviously at present we are looking to promote the books first and foremost. We have also released three colouring-in and spelling books and ‘Roger the Elephant’s Little Book of Fun Facts’ as all our books will have a page of Fun Facts for children to enjoy.”
‘Roger The Elephant Rides Route 66 with Phileas Hogg’ is available now, click here to purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1919068023
Young readers can follow along with “Roger the Elephant’ adventures here: linktr.ee/rogercircuselephant