She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch by June Smalls and Yumi Shimokawara - OPTIONAL

She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch by June Smalls, illustrated by Yumi Shimokawara. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Familius, April 2020. $17. 9781641702324

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

It is the matriarch who leads the elephant herd – to water, to shelter, to protection from enemies, and to teach the next generations – so that when her time is done there is a new matriarch to lead.

Smalls populates each page with one set of simple text and then a longer strand of more in-depth information. I like the play between the two strands of test rather than having a large amount of back matter. Shimokawara’s illustrations allow the elephant to front and center on each page.  I do wish the book were a taller format, though.  The square shape makes the elephants feel squished onto the page.

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher