An interesting lesson is learned in The Elephant’s Wrestling Match
by Judy Sierra-and that is, don’t pick a fight you cannot win. On his talking drum, the monkey beats out the elephant’s challenge for all to hear. Animals of all different sizes (big and small!) answer his call and attempt to face the elephant, but no one wins. The elephant loves to trash talk to the different competitors. However, a small bat comes along and decides to face the elephant and uses his brains to beat the elephant. So it’s funny, the smallest animal (and underdog) was the one that was the bravest and small enough to beat he elephant.
I feel like boys would enjoy this book the most because of the side theme of violence and winning a fight throughout the story, and we all know most young boys are into that kind of stuff. They would also probably love the huge picture of ferocious animals such as the leopard and an alligator. The illustrations make the animals look very, very mean and intimidating. In addition, the illustrations are different than any other I’ve seen-instead of coloring the pictures in solid, the illustrator uses tons and tons of line in order to fill up the missing space. Overall, I liked this book and the message the author gives, and I would definitely use it in my classroom.
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I think that because this book deals with fighting and violence it could create some controversy. I think that it is appropriate to have in a classroom because there is bullying that takes place. I think that the book sends a good message, especially because the underdog wins. This book can teach students to not give up. I agree that boys would really enjoy reading this book.
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm trying to bash anything that anyone has said here... but since we've been talking a lot about not making assumptions or committing to stereotypes in class, don't forget that there are probably some girls out there who would like this book too! :)
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