If You Had a Nose Like an Elephant - Hardcover

Bauer, Marion Dane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823415899 ISBN 13: 9780823415892

Publisher: Holiday House, 2001

Synopsis

A young girl imagines what it would be like to have a tongue like a snapping turtle, feet like a fly, a tail like a lizard, or cheeks like a chipmunk, but is reassured in the knowledge that being herself has wonderful advantages.

About this title

About the Author:

Marion Dane Bauer is an award-winning author who also teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College. Among her Clarion titles are ON MY HONOR, a Newbery Honor Book; A BEAR NAMED TROUBLE; and RUNT: THE STORY OF A WOLF PUP. She lives with her partner, Ann Goddard, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. 

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr 2-Animal anatomy and the myriad differences between humans and animals are the focus of this imaginative picture book. Each page (or spread) is devoted to some aspect of animal anatomy, such as elephant trunks, mosquito mouths, or monkey tails and what a child might do with such an appendage. Winter's playful watercolor illustrations show a young girl trying out each scenario with an animal companion. However, some of the situations and the intended humor may easily be lost on young readers/listeners. For example, "If you had spinnerets/like a spider's,/you could sail, sail away/on every breezy day." The child is shown hanging from some rather elaborate webbing, but no further explanation is offered. After the litany of "ifs," the text switches gears and Bauer affirms all of the things the child can do, "Because you are made/just to be you." For readers interested in the natural world, Judy Allen's series about insects, including Are You a Bee? (Kingfisher, 2001), explores the differences between human child and insect in a more detailed and enjoyable manner.

Shara Alpern, The Free Library of Philadelphia

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0823415899
• ISBN 13: 9780823415892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Winter Susan