Summary:
The Elephant was written and illustrated by Christine and Michel Denis-Huot. This informational book uses facts about elephants and beautiful photographs to create a memorable journey through the stages of a elephants life.

Personal Reaction:
As I read this book for the first time I was intrigued by the abundance of information that it contained regarding elephants. Also, I was impressed by the photography and how it supplemented the text.

Extensions:
1. This book could be used to teach a lesson about mammals. Since an elephant does not look like what most would suspect a mammal to look like, a teacher could teach a lesson covering the criteria that an animal must meet to be a mammal. Then the teacher could ask his or her students to read this book and identify the characteristics that qualify elephants to be mammals.

2. Since this book states that elephants are only preyed upon by a few animals in the food chain, a teacher could introduce this book during a study of the food chain. During this time students could draw a picture of a food chain including the elephant.