This is an excellent book for children who are curious about elephants. The words are written in large font and the color of the text contrasts with the pictures behind it. The illustrations are beautiful and clear visuals on the different kinds of elephants as well as the different animals that are closely related to them. You can see the detail that went into the illustrations because you can clearly see the wrinkles in the skin on the elephants. Additionally, there are pictures of the different elephants and their habitats. There are also really interesting extra-textual features such as a section titled “I don’t believe it!” on page 17, “Older elephants may die because the ridges on their teeth have worn away, causing the elephants to starve.” There are also different activities throughout the book that the reader can do in order to better understand the facts. For example, there is an activity on page 15 that suggests that the reader use a straw and pretend it is an elephant trunk. While many informational books do not have a message, this one does. The author stresses how the elephants are in danger of being extinct, and that they are beautiful creatures that should be saved and appreciated. ( )

This book is well organized, beginning with the evolutionary history of the elephant and some mammal relatives like the manatee. It is filled with large paintings of elephants in their natural habitat combined with some very interesting and candid photos of elephants living like elephants. With large pages, this informational book is sure to please any child with an interest in animals.

This would be great for use during a mammals unit and to just have available in the classroom. ( )