Review of The Elephant(s) in the Room

[Amy Saunders 2]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Elephant(s) in the Room" by Denny Laake and Monica Laake Beavers.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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"The Elephant(s) in the Room" by Laake and Monica Laake Beavers is a simple and fun children's book. This book is part of a series of Sammy the Weasel stories; however, it does stand on its own. In this story, Kramer the Dog asks Sammy the Weasel for help when he believes he has seen an elephant in the house. Sammy, in his "official detective gear," and Kramer search the house looking for elephants. As they begin their search, Sammy states that nothing gets by him. However, he is easily distracted and oblivious to the obvious as he and Kramer search.

The authors' use of simple vocabulary is balanced with a few words that may be new to kids, such as a disclaimer and sleuths. With the context clues provided by the authors, the meanings of the words should be easy to understand, even if they are new words, and will help build vocabulary. I found a good use of descriptive words used in the book, another excellent way to build a child's vocabulary.

The illustrations are done by Monica Laake Beavers, one of the authors. The book is full of simple shapes and bright, bold colors. The illustrations go along with the story and make this a good choice for a book to be read aloud to children. The illustrations also encourage reading comprehension and allow for the opportunity for further questions to help with a child's ability to make connections. The illustrations could also be used by very young children as a "hide and seek" book that encourages questions such as: "Sammy didn't see an elephant in this room. Can you find an elephant?" The book could be used for color identification as well.

As a teacher, I am always on the lookout for books that are entertaining to read aloud to a class and allow for opportunities to build lessons around for additional learning. I found that "The Elephant(s) in the Room" does both. I would rate this book a 4 out of 4. It is an excellent book for young children, and I would read it to both my own children and to my students at school. I would rate this a 5 out of 5. I love the idea of the book for a classroom, but I did find one minor punctuation error that I would like to see correct. However this does not take away from the story.

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The Elephant(s) in the Room
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