African Elephants: We Are Family

Description

I want to introduce you to my first children’s book, African Elephants: We are Family.  Order your book today for your child or grandchild and we will ship it to you right away. African Elephants: We are Family comes with a FUN companion workbook. 

This 34 page nonfiction book is written by me and the artwork includes the paintings by Trent Altman. We both created this book. It is my hope this book will engage youth of all ages to learn about the majestic African elephants and their way of living in the Savanna region of Africa.

The book begins with a story of a baby elephant’s first migration with his mother and the rest of the family herd. According to Scott A. Sampson, author of How to Raise a Wild Child, he explains that stories are priceless word-jewels with the power to create, sustain, and transform worlds. He continues to say that stories help children foster a sense of empathy for others. It is my hope in these uncertain times of racial injustice, climate change and COVID-19, children need stories to shape the new possibilities of their world.

Children will love learning the scientific facts about elephant behavior representing social emotional themes: joy and love for their youngsters, playfulness, affection, fear, empathy, and collaboration to act in emergency situations.

Scientific facts are presented in yellow boxes, The story along with the facts is drawn from extensive qualitative research presented in Carl Safina’s book, Beyond Words: What animals think and feel. CARLSAFINA.ORG

The book also contains:

A map of Africa and showing the Savanna Region.

A diagram of the anatomy of an elephant

Glossary of vocabulary words.

A bibliography

My Motivation to write this book:

The motivation behind writing this book was based upon National Geographic videos my son Trent and I watched last winter. These majestic animals moved me so deeply with their expression of emotions: celebration of birth, protection of their young, problem solving, fear, and collaboration to care for the youngsters or injured elephants. Because my son who has autism is an abstract artist, I wanted to collaborate with him to include his art as the back drop to each page, thus merging science with art.

It is my hope children’s hearts will be enhanced as well as their curiosity to learn more about these beautiful unique animals. Lastly, they will learn that elephants are one of the most intelligent, empathetic, and compassionate creatures on earth.

This picture book is for elementary students, yet it can be entertaining for students with special needs or anyone who has an interest in elephants.

Also available is the companion resource- African Elephants: We are family (Unit) with worksheets, fun stuff, and 25 activities children will enjoy. This companion resource ranges from K-6 or older. K-1 is shown with a red and purple pencil, grades 1-3 is shown with a lime green and dark green pencil, and grades 4-6 is shown with an orange color pencil representing fluent readers, or beyond. The book and the companion Unit-African Elephants: We are family can be easily adapted for students with special needs.

Total Pages

33 pages

STANDARDS

CCSS

CCRA.R.6

Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

CCSS

CCRA.R.4

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

CCSS

CCRA.R.1

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Dedicated to bringing youth emotional well-being, self-advocacy, and to power their life with resiliency.

Dr. Jackie