When an Elephant Comes to School

Description

When an elephant comes to school he may be shy at first. A special friend can show him where to put his lunch box.The first day of school is hard, especially when you are an elephant. But with the help of some new friends, any elephant could get into the swing of things. Jan Ormerod's beautifully illustrated story, WHEN AN ELEPHANT COMES TO SCHOOL, is sure to delight and dazzle any child with excitement and imagination. What would your child do if an elephant came to his or her school?

Booklist 6/1/05 PreS-6r. 2. An endearing elephant is going to school for the first time. What will it be like? An unseen narrator informs children that the new student may be a bit shy. Someone should show him the location of the bathroom and where to put his lunch box. In succeeding spreads, the elephant is shown sharing, doing arts and crafts (rather messily), listening to stories, resting, and finally going home. Adults may think that this is a book to acclimate children to school-and, in a way, it is. But it is also just what it seems on the surface-a book about one particular student's new experiences. Smooth, off-white pages provide the background for watercolors depicting the elephant cavorting across the spreads. Post-it-style notes point out special likes and dislikes. Some of the pictures have the effect of collage; the elephant especially has some heft. The rest of the watercolor pictures are filled with action, but they don't have much energy. Best for teachers, who can use the story to remind their students how to help newbies. -Ilene Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 12)) Cass, the quirky, self-confident girl who appeared in Pollet's earlier Nobody Was Here (2004), about prep school life in the mid-1980s, is trying in eighth grade to sort out who she really is: orphaned child; invincible girl; third wheel? She's discovering that at 13 things start clanging around in disharmonious earnest. The garrulous boy seated behind Cass in English class seems to voice some of this turmoil. Rod is bold and not at all perfect, but their friendship is a gift, and his abrupt departure challenges Cass to try to find her own missing pieces. Pollet steers a neat and relatively innocent course through the troubled and murky waters of middle school. Readers will recognize Cass's lack of perspective and experience as their own, and there are moments enough of genuine warmth and humor that they will care what happens to her. 2005, Orchard, 160p, $