Lions and Ostriches and Elephants, Oh My!

 Today I’m sharing a couple books that feature animals: a counting book for the littles, and a nonfiction book about elephants for the 7-and-up crowd.

theme: rhyme, counting, elephants

Five Hiding Ostriches 

by Barbara Barbieri McGrath; illus by Riley Samels 

32 pages; ages 3-7

Charlesbridge, 2022

Five little ostriches, huddled in one spot. The first one said, “It’s getting rather hot.”

The second one adds an observation, then the third, fourth, and fifth… and when a lion is spotted it’s Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! through the brush. The ostriches want to hide, but what does the lion want? He isn’t interested in ostriches for supper.

What I like about this book: It’s a fun read-aloud about five worried birds – and their penchant for talking when they should be quiet. And a lion. And  a game of hide-and-seek. The illustrations show the savannah habitat where lions and ostriches hang out, though usually not together. What makes it a STEAM book are the fun ostrich facts revealed in the back matter. For example: they don’t really bury their heads in the sand. But they do try to disguise themselves as rocks. Back matter also includes a game kids can play with their friends.

Elephants!: Strange and Wonderful 

by Laurence Pringle; illus. by Meryl Learnihan Henderson 

32 pages; ages 7-10

Astra Young Readers (Boyds Mills), 2021   

From the jacket: The trunks of elephants are remarkable, but so are their feet, teeth, ears, and skin. Elephants walk on their tiptoes and despite their size move very quietly. Their wrinkled skin holds water and their ears act as air conditioners…

The book opens with a comparison of Asian and African elephants. Pringle shows the ways elephants use their trunks, their teeth and tusks, and gives readers a glimpse into their family lives. He also includes the way humans have interacted with elephants, from mythology to the ways people have used them to help haul things and as transportation.

What I like about this book: I like the comparison of modern elephants with prehistoric pachyderms – and yes, that word is used. Thankfully there’s a glossary at the back! Another thing at the end of the book is a section about environmental issues and threats to elephants, including the ivory trade.

Beyond the Books:

Find out more about ostriches and lions. San Diego Zoo has a page about ostriches at 

 https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ostrich and a page on lions at  https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/lion. 

Make up your own hide-and-seek game about lions and ostriches, or wild animals that live in your area.

Make some elephant art. Younger kids might have fun making elephants out of a handprint. And you can find out more about elephants at https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/elephant

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by the publisher.

A Shoe for an Elephant

The Elephant's New Shoe 
by Laurel Neme; illus. by Ariel Landy 
40 pages; ages 4-6
Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2020   

theme: animal rescue, elephants, engineering

Animal rescuer Nick Marx peered at the injured elephant. 

It was a young male, orphaned and in bad shape. A wire snare had cut off his foot, which meant he couldn’t keep up with the herd. So Nick did the reasonable thing: he camped by the elephant, fed him bananas, and gained his trust. Then he moved him to a rescue center.

Nick introduced the young male, called Chhouk, to another elephant. But when she wandered, Chhouk couldn’t keep pace. Could the rescuers make a foot for Chhouk? 

What I like about this book: I like the way medics work on the problem of building a huge shoe that can take hundreds of pounds. I like how Laurel shows that nothing is easy; it took a few tires to eventually create a prosthetic foot that allowed the young elephant freedom of movement. There is great back matter, with photos and more information about elephants. And Nick, the wildlife rescuer, introduces the book noting that elephants “may look a little different, but they are people, too!”

Beyond the Books:

Chhouk and Nick Marx, courtesy of Wildlife Alliance.

Chhouk is an Asian elephant, an endangered species. You can find out more about them here.

Watch a video about Chhouk and his prosthetic foot here. And check out the posts about Chhouk at the Wildlife Alliance page here.

Chhouk isn’t the only animal to receive a prosthetic. Birds, cats, dogs, horses – many animals are helped by prosthetic limbs or beak extensions, or even a pair of wheels. Find out more here.

Laurel Neme is a member of #STEAMTeam2020. You can find out more about her at her website.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Elephants need friends

Like us, elephants need family and friends. Otherwise they grow lonely. Here are two books that explore different facets of being an elephant.

themes: family, friendship, animals

Maggie, Alaska's Last Elephant
by Jennifer Keats Curtis; illus. by Phyllis Saroff
32 pages; ages 4-9
Arbordale, 2018

Once, elephants lived in Alaska - two of them.

This award-winning book opens with Annabelle, an Asian elephant and Maggie, an African elephant who lived in a zoo in Alaska. They were good friends. When Annabelle died, Maggie seemed lost. She was so lonely that she adopted a tire. The keepers tried everything to keep her active and engaged, but Maggie seemed to fade. Eventually, they decided she needed to go somewhere else, where she could live with other elephants.

What I like about this book: Author Jennifer Keats Curtis is a wonderful storyteller. She weaves in a lot of elephant behavior as she introduces Maggie and her story. She shows zookeepers creating enrichment opportunities for Maggie, in an effort to keep her brain and senses engaged throughout her day. And when they realize it's time for her to go, they have another problem to solve: how do you move an 8,000-pound animal thousands of miles?

I also like the back matter, which includes more information about elephant herds, how zoos keep elephants healthy and happy, and a fun Q&A with a keeper.

While Maggie's story is about a real elephant, Randal's is not. Instead, it is an imaginative way to address the question: how do you know who you are and where you belong.

Randal, the Elephant
by Ciara Gavin
36 pages; ages 3-6
Persnickety Press, 2018

One day Randal and Clive sat watching the elephants.

Randal finds elephants fascinating. Clive, not so much. As Randal waxes eloquent about all the cool things elephants can do (take a bath with their noses!), Clive asks, "Why don't you become one?"

What I like about this book: To become an elephant, Randal will need to spend a lot of time with them and "think elephant thoughts". So off he goes. But even when he's with the elephants, he remembers his buddies back home. A fun part of this book is the letters and photos that Randal sends to his friends. I love that he comes back to his otter friends. And I especially love the ending where Randal and Clive are once again watching animals and Randal exclaims how majestic these new beasts are! I don't want to give away the ending - but it is fun, and unexpected.

Yes! There is back matter - "cool facts" about elephants (in case you want to become one).

Beyond the Books:

Find out more about elephants! You can learn more at the World Wildlife site .

Arbordale provides links to the back matter in Maggie, as well as a teaching activity guide here.

If you could be an animal, what would you be? Why? What would you do to learn how to think your animal's thoughts?

Visit some elephants in a zoo. What sort of enrichment activities have the keepers provided? Watch their behavior and see if you can tell who their friends are.

If you're looking for more books on elephants, here are some titles to check out (links to reviews)

• How to Be an Elephant, Cao Chong Weighs and Elephant, and How to Find an Elephant
• The Elephant Whisperer
• Once Upon an Elephant
• Thirsty, Thirsty Elephants

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review copies provided by the publishers.

The Elephant Whisperer

Last week I shared half a handful of elephant picture books. Today's book is middle grade nonfiction.

The Elephant Whisperer
by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence
256 pages; ages 10-14
Henry Holt & Co, 2017

I love nonfiction that reads like an adventure novel! Lawrence Anthony ran the Thula Thula reserve - 5,000 acres of undeveloped bush in the heart of Zululand, South Africa. It was home to white rhinos, cape buffalo, giraffes, zebras, lynx, antelope, and other animals, but no elephants. Anthony never thought to have elephants, until he hears of a small group of elephants being given away.

They're "troublesome", he's warned. But he decides to take a chance on them and reinforces the fencing. They get out - many times - and Anthony decides he'll have to sleep with them to let them know that they are safe and this is their home.

In between the adventures of tracking down escaped elephants and capturing poachers, Anthony tells about elephant social groups. He describes each of the animals in the herd, their personalities, and a whole lot about animal behavior. One thing he emphasizes: elephants are smart. They are tenacious problem-solvers.

Eventually the herd starts visiting his house - especially after he's been away and is returning to the reserve. When they have babies, the females bring them to the house and "introduce" the babies to the human who is now an adopted member of the herd. Woven throughout the book is Anthony's life on the reserve - including some tips for gardening in elephant territory.

"These elephants taught me that all life-forms are imporant to one another in our common quests for survival and happiness," writes Anthony. "... there is more to life than just yourself, your own family, or your own kind."

Check out this video of the elephants at Thula Thula.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - On Monday we'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle - so hop over to see what other people are reading. ARC provided by publisher.

Elephants everywhere!

So many books about elephants! I'm not complaining because elephants are smart, brave, social, and very cool animals. So if you've got an elephant-loving kid in your house, here are some new-ish books that will capture their imagination.
themes: nonfiction, animal families, STEM

How to Be an Elephant
by Katherine Roy
48 pages; ages 7 - 11
Roaring Brook Press, 2017

With flapping ears and whiffling trunks, the herd quickly relays the news. After 22 months of growing, a new baby is on her way.

There are so many things this young elephant needs to learn. She'll learn about the importance of family. She'll learn that her feet were made for walking. She'll learn about all the ways to use her trunk and how to communicate with distant families.

What I like about this book: It's info-packed, but so fun to read. Katherine Roy puts us right in the midst of a herd, so we get an intimate look at how young elephants grow up and the education they receive. I enjoyed learning more about the social groups of elephants, headed by a matriarch who protects them and leads them to water and food. Also the comparisons of young elephants to other youngsters who learn through play. Elephant children play games like "chase the enemy" with egrets, baboons, and other smaller neighbors; our children play tag and king of the hill. We need books like this to help our children understand how all life is connected, and how some species, like elephants, are keystone species for their ecosystems.

If you ever receive an elephant as a gift and need to weigh it, this book is for you.

Cao Chong Weighs and Elephant
by Songju Ma Daemicke; illustrated by Christina Wald
32 pages; ages 4-8
Arbordale, 2017

Nearly 2,000 years ago a curious boy named Cao Chong came up with a solution to a weighty problem. His father received an elephant as a gift. People marveled at its size and its long, flexible trunk. "It works like an arm and a hand," young Chong exclaims.

When they speculate on its weight, Chong's father puts up a prize for whoever can solve the problem. Scales won't work, and cutting the huge animal into smaller pieces to weigh isn't a humane solution. But Chong has an idea. It involves a lake, a boat, and  Archimedes' principle.

Why I like this book: Archimedes' principle - how can I not like it! Plus a creative way to introduce a complex idea to kids - and lots of back matter and activities.

How to Find an Elephant
by Kate Banks; illus. by Boris Kulikov
32 pages; ages 3-6
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017

The best time to look for an elephant is on a dull day when clouds hover on the horizon looking like spaceships.

I did not know that! Apparently there are many things I don't know about finding elephants: you have to climb a tree; you should carry a flute; and if you find one, don't feed it pizza.

What I like about this book: This imaginative, playful, and very much NOT nonfiction book is plain fun to read. We head out with the main character on an elephant-finding expedition. The fun part: the elephant is there, hidden on the page or - in some cases - not hidden at all.

Beyond the Books:

Learn more about African Elephants. National Geographic has a great page full of photos and information here. You can find out more about how people are working to save elephants at Save the Elephants.

What's Archimedes' Principle? Well, it was SO neat that he jumped out of a bathtub and ran through town shouting "Eureka!" Find out more here. And try it yourself here.

Go on an Elephant Finding Expedition around your neighborhood. If elephants were there, where would they be hiding? Would they be camouflaged? Would they be hiding beneath the snow? Better yet, head to a zoo and check out what the real elephants are doing. Maybe you'll catch one of the trainers working with the elephants - using broccoli treats to get the elephants to raise one foot at a time for cleaning.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copies from the publishers.

Once Upon an Elephant

Once Upon an Elephant

By Linda Stanek; illus by Shennen Berdani

32 pages; ages 4-8

Arbordale, 2016

   Once upon an elephant, the sun beat down on the hot, cracked earth. Rivers ran dry. The animals of the savanna risked dying from thirst. But the elephants were there.

The elephants used their tusks to crack through the hard soil and dig for water.

Elephants are a keystone species- a species that helps other living things meet their basic needs. They dig salt for zebras, slow wildfires, plant seeds, maintain grasslands – they help keep the African savanna in balance. If something happens to a keystone species, the entire ecosystem is hurt. So… what would happen if the elephants were gone, if they were only “once upon a time”? That's what this book explores.

Back matter includes additional information about keystone species and elephant facts.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources.  Review copy from publisher.