For me, it all started in a challenging grade 6 class, also in Edmonton.  It was my first year as a certificated teacher with my own classroom.  The class was friendly, lively, and disorganised.  As I was establishing routines at the beginning of the year, I searched for a motivating force to encourage my students to put their books and papers away properly.  After a discussion at home, I introduced my students to Edgar, a desk-surfing elephant.  Edgar was hiding out in our classroom, nestling in messy student desks and cubbies.  I cautioned my students about this friendly animal who would make their belongings even harder to find.  They were intrigued.  They asked questions.  Edgar the Elephant became a topic of daily conversation.  

As the year went on, Edgar and his adventures in the classroom became the subject of a student-written skit.  While I had not envisioned any criminal tendencies, my students put him on trial for stealing my stapler.  He was eventually acquitted and exonerated of any evil intent!

Elephant in the Clutter is now part of a trilogy, with books four and five in process.