Bibliographic Information: Gusti. (2006). Half of an Elephant. La Jolla: Kane/Miller Book Publishers.
Brief Annotation: The world split in half, so everything lost half of itself, including an elephant, who searches to find his missing half. Through the journey, the half of an elephant discovers other things about himself.
Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: 2-4
Readers who will like this: Children who like animals as the main characters; children who like interesting/different illustrations (not just drawings/paintings.
Rating/Response: 4 I thought this book was very interesting and different from any other picture books I’ve read. It has an unusual story and the illustrations are made of all sorts of objects (things found in the garbage).
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Have you ever lost something? How did it make you feel?
Reading Strategy: Inferences
Rationale for Strategy: This book would make a good book for teaching inferences because students can make predictions about what the elephant will do next on his journey to find his other half or if he will find his other half. Students can also infer how the elephant and the other characters feel during the story.
Posted by: Jenna Bosch
