Kelp was born in the ocean but has always known he doesn’t quite fit in. His tusk isn’t as long as those of his friends, he doesn’t share the same taste in food and he can’t swim nearly as well as the other narwhal.
One day, he is carried out of the sea on a current and discovers a whole new world of land narwhals! Otherwise known as unicorns. Among them, he discovers that he is actually a unicorn, not a narwhal and for once in his life belongs.
But he misses his friends back in the oceans. Can Kelp have the best of both worlds?
What did we learn?
That narwhals are sea unicorns and unicorns are land narwhals.
Why I like it:
Narwhals & unicorns. Enough said.
This is such a great book! No wonder it won the Caldecott Medal.
Santat takes us to the world of imaginary friends where we meet Beekle: a little blob thing just waiting for his child to imagine him. When all of his friends are imagined out of his world, he embarks on an adventure to the real world in search of his child.
What did we learn?
Friendship and all its forms.
Why I like it
I loved the whimsical world Santat created and can see this as a Pixar movie. I never had an imaginary friend – I’m worried he/she/it is still waiting for me on the other side!
Oh I do love a book about the power of imagination and this is a fantastic one!
Elephant is happily walking in the rain with his green umbrella when a hedgehog approaches him and asks for his boat back. Apparently, the hedgehog sails the high seas in the green umbrella. Throughout the story, we meet several other animals who have different uses for the green umbrella. In the end, they become friends and use the umbrella together for all their different needs.
What did we learn?
That an umbrella can be a boat or a tent or a walking stick or a sword,
Why I like it
I love the illustrations in this one. I basically want to crawl into each picture and explore the lovely (European looking) countryside and have a picnic with bunting and a raccoon. Although I think it should be left up to our children to see the many uses of a single item – this book serves as a good reminder to me the power of imagination.
Hope you enjoy these picks! And as always,
Happy Reading,
Curious in Wonderland
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