Elem. – A Little Ferry Tale

Otis, Chad. A Little Ferry Tale. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2022. 978-1-534-48769-7. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades PreK-1.

Hey look, Little Toot, there’s a newcomer on the dock and her name is Little Ferry. Ferry is a small boat with big aspirations, and her job is to carry passengers from the mainland to the island and back again. She looks at other vessels in the harbor and observes people admiring the sailboat’s gracefulness, the tugboat’s fearlessness, and the speedboat’s power. Ferry never receives such accolades and feels insignificant compared with the other watercraft, wishing she could trade places with them. She decides to follow in their wake by going fast, facing large boats, and being carefree, but Ferry finds she has trouble doing that. As the little boat sadly returns to the pier with her passengers, Tugboat raises an alarm of fire on the island. All of the boats in the harbor know that animals live there and rush to rescue them. Speedboat and Tugboat frighten the animals as they approach the shore, and Sailboat gets hung up on the rocks. Only Little Ferry, after summoning up her courage, is able to bring all of them on board and transport them safely to the dock. The small boat realizes that her patience and carefulness are qualities that also have value. The message here is to be true to yourself. The author-illustrator has created digital illustrations that bring out each boat’s personality. The drawings of the characters with their large eyes and expressive mouths will draw in young readers.

THOUGHTS: This charming picture book will be a hit with children, who will want to read it again and again. It is a good example of personification. Pair this marine newcomer with the classic Little Toot for a nautical themed story time. Recommended.

Picture Book           Denise Medwick, Retired, PSLA Member

Elem. – Free to Be Elephant Me

Andreae, Giles. Free to Be Elephant Me. Orchard Books, 2021. 978-1-338-734270. Unpaged. $16.91. Grades PreK-2.

Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees, the duo behind Giraffes Can’t Dance, teamed up to create the story of elephant Num-Num, a little elephant searching for his special gifts. It’s tradition for all young elephants to perform in front of king Elephant Mighty to showcase their talents and be given an elephant name like Elephant Noisy to the little one who can trumpet loudest or Elephant Strong to the little one who can rip a tree right from the ground. Num-Num doesn’t believe that he has any special talents and after a dismal performance and an unkind mocking by the king, he leaves and travels far away where he makes a new home by a watering hole. Over time, Num-Num makes many friends who assure him that he is perfect the way he is and that his talents involve being kind and simply being himself. Num-Num, supported by many animal friends, returns to the elephants and tells Elephant Mighty that he’d like to be called Elephant Me because “…the hardest thing sometimes is just to be you and to know being you is enough.” Elephant Mighty seems to truly understand and even reveals that he often feels stifled by his name and role, and the tale ends happily with a dance-filled celebration.

THOUGHTS: A simple, attractive rhyming story that may help convey ideas of self-acceptance to little readers. 

Picture Book          Lindsey Long, Lower Dauphin SD

Elem. – The Perfect Fit

Jones, Naomi. The Perfect Fit. 1st American ed., Kane Miller, 2021. 978-1-684-64141-3. Unpaged. $14.99. Grades K-3.

Triangle loved playing with the circles, but sometimes she felt a bit different. She couldn’t roll like the circles and often felt like she was getting in their way. Therefore, she set off in search of friends who were more like her. She played with some squares, but soon realized she couldn’t stack like them. She played with the hexagons, but found that she kept messing up their pattern. Finally, Triangle discovered other triangles who were exactly like her. However, it wasn’t long before Triangle realized that it was a lot more fun for all of the shapes to play together. A cute story with a strong positive message about acceptance and inclusion, this book would be an excellent addition to any elementary collection.

THOUGHTS: I love the many ways in which this book could be used in an elementary setting. It could be used to introduce geometrical shapes and patterns, or it could be used to initiate a discussion about acceptance and inclusion. Pair it with other titles that celebrate diversity and differences, such as Lisa Mantchev’s Strictly No Elephants (2015) and Todd Parr’s It’s Okay to Be Different (2001).

Picture Book          Julie Ritter, PSLA Member