I recently
received a review copy of If An Elephant
Went To School. This picture book comes out July 21st. I was
immediately charmed and dismayed as I read it. Charmed because the illustration
and story are so much fun. Dismayed because I wished I had a copy when my
almost three-year-old niece was at my home a few days before. This book is made
for three-year-olds.
Vivian, my
niece, is currently in that stage of development where everything is “silly.”
If you ask her if her dinner is for Luke or Liam, she will reply, “No, that’s
silly.” She loves to laugh and loves when things are obviously in the wrong
spot. So I just know, this is a book for her. I also think this would be an
awesome read aloud for a preschool to Kindergarten class the first week of
school.
The picture
book begins with, “If an elephant went to school, what would she learn? The
ABCs? No Way! An elephant would learn to use her trunk as…” and goes on from
there. Each spread is a new animal and what they would, and wouldn’t, learn at
school.
The book beautiful captures the similarities and differences we all have and how school could best be structured to suit each person or animal. I think any child would be delighted to read it.
Also, there
is a special illustration in the book that slips in an image of the companion
book that Fischer and Wood created together, If an Armadillo Went to a Restaurant. Armadillo is also being featured over at the Reading Rainbow app if you are interested in downloading from
there. (HERE)
