Randal the Elephant by Ciara Gavin

My Thoughts:

What I Loved: The illustrations in this book were amazing! They were soft and colorful and made the reading experience so much better. They really filled the story out for the reader.

How I Felt: I was happy with the message of this book. You can be anything you want to be and it’s ok to think you want to be one thing, try it, and decide it is not right for you. For our children, giving them the courage to try new things is important and letting them know that it’s ok to not succeed at something is perfect. I loved Randal’s determination to be an elephant and his letters home were cute and made my daughter and I giggle. Randal’s adventure with the elephants wasn’t quite what he thought it would be, but we enjoyed watching him try.

To Read or Not To Read: This book is perfect for a pre-K to middle elementary school. It’s a good story for every child with a message that they can understand.

What’s This Book About Anyway?

Randal is an otter, but decides that he would like to be an elephant. His friends and family are very supportive of his decision and send him off on his journey. Randal writes letters home that make it sound like he’s having a wonderful time, but you can also read between the lines to see that it is not quite the experience he thought it would be.

Randal discovers that it is ok to want to be something and then discover that it is not quite right for him. His friends were supportive of his choices, and the end of the book shows how he doesn’t give up on finding something that is right for him.