Review: If an Elephant Went to School

If an Elephant Went to School by Ellen Fischer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When animals go to school, do they learn Math and Spelling? No, they would learn how to animal.

The title of this book is rather deceptive. I was expecting a plot a la If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Instead, the author offers a variety of typical options for learning and counters with what real animals could learn at school. While there is factual information couched in this picturebook, it does lack any type of plot. Sure, it has a definite structure and fantastic illustrations, yet thee"If a animal went to school, would it learn xyz? No, it would learn animal thing," went on about four spreads too long. I lost interest and just wanted to skim through to discover the twist.

Fun, informative, well-designed, but it's carefully rendered structure proves to be more of a detriment than anything.

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