Book Review: Strictly No Elephants

Author: Lisa Mantchev
Illustrator: Taeeun Yoo

From the Book Jacket: When the local Pet Club won’t admit a boy’s tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution—one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book. Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend. This sweet story captures the magic of friendship and the joy of having a pet.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: This was such a helpful book to teach our K-1 kids how exclusion is a hurtful behavior. We focused on the words INCLUDE and INVITE. I feel like we need to flood our younger grades with these community builders. Early childhood is when we want to help instill those strong values of friendship and caring about others. Love this one.  

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Book Review: The Social Butterfly

Author: Beth Bracken
Illustrator: Sofia Cardoso

From the Book Jacket: Charlotte loves talking, singing, and playing. What Charlotte doesn’t love is sitting still, being quiet, and listening, which is a big problem at school. Charlotte's overly social ways interfere with her friendships and her learning. Will Charlotte be able to modify her behavior and learn when to be social and when to be quiet? A sweet and relatable picture book story that shines a light on social behaviors.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Helping kids develop self control is a big part of what I do. It is hard to sit still!! So when I find great resources like this I am ecstatic. I rely on My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook when I teach active listening skills which is a great resource. But it's also nice to now have a story about the same problem behavior that shows a female character. If you are looking for a good book to help your talkers and strengthen classroom management - this is an awesome one. 

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Book Review: Penguin Problems

Author: Jory John
Illustrator: Lane Smith

From the Book Jacket: Have you ever considered running away to Antarctica? Of course you have! Because it's a land free of worries and responsibilities! All of your problems will surely be blown away by the icy winds of that lawless paradise! . . . Won't they?
 
Think again, my friend. This penguin has come to tell you that his life down there is no more a picnic than yours is here. For starters, it is FREEZING. Also, penguins have a ton of natural predators. Plus, can you imagine trying to find your mom in a big ol' crowd of identical penguins? No, thank you.
 
Yes, it seems there is no escaping the drudgery of your daily grind, whatever it might be. Or perhaps we've just learned that grumps are everywhere.

Why It's on My Bookshelf: My students loved this book. It was a great helper in a lesson on how negativity is such an unhelpful behavior to our lives. Luckily a walrus pops into the story to share how it's more important to be grateful and to look for the positive. This book is also done with humor which really engaged the kiddos. So important to teach students they can reframe their thoughts and words. If you also need a resource to help teach the size of the problem, I recommend this one for sure. 

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