The story of Elsa the Elephant is one of the first children’s Hanukkah stories to feature an elephant in a starring role. Interestingly the Book of Maccabees which documents the origin of the Hanukkah festival describes the use of elephants in the war of King Antiochus against the Jewish people in 167B.C.E. Some ancient coins dating to the period of the Maccabees also feature the image of the elephant. It is Elsa’s ability to be able to spin the dreidel that endures her to all of the jungle animals.