Whilst not necessarily all of equal literary merit, the 29 published Elmer stories are a valuable teaching resource for exploring uniqueness and friendship, whilst also encouraging children on their reading for pleasure journey.Įlmer Day has been an annual event since its inception in 2016.
Exploring her feelings about her inability to communicate would be a valuable area to discuss and explore with young children. Whilst her physical disability is tolerated by the others he misses the opportunity to use her character to express empathy with her hearing problem.
He is not so successful in expressing tolerance with the special needs of Aunt Zelda whose deafness is used as a vehicle for humour. The emphasis on the value of friendship, diversity and inclusion conveyed by McKee in his stories works best when he deals with a subject with which he has had first-hand experience, racial prejudice. By asking children what’s special about Elmer, his friends and themselves, librarians, teachers and carers can use activities centred around the patchwork elephant as a springboard for discussion, storytelling and creative activities to foster an attitude of kindness to all – whilst encouraging empathy with the many different people they encounter on a daily basis. In fact, Elmer is unable to maintain his disguise as a normal, grey-coloured elephant for long, but he discovers that it is his unique ability to make the other elephants laugh is what really matters to his friends.Įmpathy with McKee’s colourful characters and the dilemmas they find themselves in, can help children to understand the experience and viewpoints of others. One commentator, Xiangning Li emphasises that when discussing Elmer it’s important to recognise the children’s differences whilst fostering their strengths in a realistic way. Through Elmer and the various characters he encounters, children can be encouraged to forge friendships whilst celebrating their differences. McKee employs the character of Elmer as a positive synonym for individuality. The author was inspired to write Elmer after his young daughter was the target of racist comments because of the colour of her skin. One of a series, the first picture book about Elmer, the patchwork elephant, was published in 1968. Picture books, like Elmer, which explore positive attitudes and friendship, can become a valuable tool for encouraging discussion with young children about the importance of embracing and celebrating our diverse world.Įlmer Day celebrations this year are tinged with sadness after the recent death of Elmer’s creator, writer and artist David McKee. It never ceases to amaze me how very young children unquestionably accept and accommodate the differences they perceive in those around them but the growing child is influenced by the mindsets of those they encounter. Set Luka® in front of the book, and it will read aloud any page your child turns to- creating a unique, independent physical book reading experience even if your child isn't ready to read by themselves. Click to read our founders' personal review of Luka here.I work with London school children as both a librarian and heritage educator, and regularly meet pupils with special needs as well as those from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. The involved plot and detailed illustrations will capture the interest of experienced readers ages 5+.Ĭonsider adding Luka®, the reading robot, to your order. Luka® reads 70,000 books in Mandarin Chinese! The limited text per page and the prevalence of common language make it a good "bridge book" for readers.
0 kommentar(er)
