Strictly No Elephants
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the The Why-Askers stage.
Why it fits The Why-Askers (for preschoolers whose every page sparks a question)
A boy and his tiny elephant are turned away from the pet club, so they start their own. Inclusion becomes a plot, not a moral tacked on. The door that says everyone welcome is built by kids.
What makes it special
The excluded don't beg to join; they build a better club — a plot structure with a spine. Taeeun Yoo's linocut-soft illustrations give the tiny elephant real dignity. Its closing rule, 'everyone welcome,' is written by the children themselves, which is how inclusion actually sticks.
From the publisher
A boy is excluded from joining his friends' pet club because of his unusual…
About Lisa Mantchev
Lisa Mantchev writes whimsical picture books and young-adult fantasy from Washington State; Strictly No Elephants, her picture-book debut, was embraced by educators worldwide as the gentlest available lesson on inclusion.
Also by this author: Someday, Narwhal · Remarkables
More from “Big Feelings, First Friendships”
This book is part of The Best Books for Preschoolers: 30 Teacher Picks (The Why-Askers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.