Henry is introduced to his new baby sister. He is sure she will be happy to learn all his elephant wisdom but each time he shows Celeste something important she simply 'does her own thing'. When the pair wander off to eat some delicious acacia pods a storm whips up and they are separated from the herd. It is at this point that Celeste repeats back to Henry all the things he had been trying to teach her - smelling the air for water; and trumpeting loudly to alert the herd. Luckily their mother hears their trumpeting and arrives to help them.
"Will you teach me more about being an elephant tomorrow?' Celeste whispered sleepily. 'Of course,' said Henry, happily. 'And let's do some more playing as well,' he added, cuddling up beside her."
I eavesdropped on a library session this week where the teacher-Librarian was explaining to her young group ways to determine if a book was fiction or non-fiction. One of the criteria she showed the group was the assigning of a human name to an animal - such as in this book where the young elephant is named Henry. At the same time there are 'facts' in this book such as the way elephants use their ears to keep cool, and using dust as a sun protection.
Henry's Little Sister is a new book published in 2023. Jo Weaver is a truly special illustrator. You could pair this book with a non-fiction book about elephants such as these [hint library Dewey number 599.67].
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