Twenty-One Elephants and Still StandingWritten by April Jones Prince
Illustrated by Francois Roca
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years
This became a favorite even before we checked it out. Joshua (4 years old) absolutely loves architecture - buildings, bridges, if it's man-made he's fascinated by it! Living just outside of NYC, he is especially inspired by the many monumental skyscrapers and bridges in the area.
Over the summer we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge - a free activity that I highly recommend to anyone visiting or living in the NY area. So, when I ran across this book about elephants AND the Brooklyn Bridge in my search for books on elephants, I was excited. And this book did not disappoint our high expectations. The illustrations are beautiful, with some spectacular ones of the bridge itself. The story is interesting, chronicling a true story of P.T. Barnum Bailey's stunt of walking his 21 world-famous elephants over the newly constructed bridge. I'm sure you and the kids in your life will enjoy this book!
Big Little Elephant
By Valeri Gorbachev
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years; 7-10 years
This is the second book by Valeri Gorbachev that we have checked out, and it is the second book of hers that we have liked. There's something about her style that is inviting. In this book, Little Elephant learns about being a friend - a lesson that most children love (and need) to hear.
Tweak, Tweak
Written by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier
Age: 3-5 years
Cute illustrations for a cute story! I enjoyed reading about this curious little elephant and was definitely inspired by her (very) patient mother. Hannah (3 years old) seemed to like this the most of all her siblings.
Elmer's Colors
By David McKee
Age: 0-2 years
This book inspired our mosaic "E". You can enjoy an entire series of books about Elmer, a very colorful elephant.
Splash!
By Flora McDonnell
Age: 0-2 years; 3-5 years
This was one of the first books I checked out from the children's library when we lived the simple life of a family of three. Joshua (now 4 years old) was very small at that time and we both enjoyed reading this book. I like its simplicity best. We've enjoyed checking it out many times since Hannah (3 years old) and Abby (15 months old) have joined the family. I'm sure we'll continue to enjoy it.
"Alligator Alphabet"
By Stella Blackstone and Stephanie Bauer
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
I really liked the colorful illustrations in this book. I didn't like that some of the animal names don't quite fit in with the phonics work we're doing at home. But it has helped Hannah (nearly 3) to solidify her letter identification (even though that pesky "G" introduced a mound of confusion).
"Little White Rabbit"
By Kevin Henkes
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
This wasn't my favorite, but the kids liked the illustrations. I don't blame them, the colors are beautiful and I liked how the pages were nice and thick. There's just something about thick pages.
