Title: One Step at a Time

Embrace
The difference in font size for dialogue was really good for younger readers. Illustrations are divine - they don't fill up the whole page and it is to good effect. The twist at the end of the book.

Beware
Nothing comes to mind.

My Thoughts...

Use It
The cover didn't really draw me in but this book is definitely worth considering for your classroom. I have tagged this as grade 2-6 depending on what you want your class to get out of the story.

I am guessing this story was inspired by stories in the news from the last couple of years about elephants who lost limbs due to landmines and received prosthetics instead. The page where the elephant stepped on the landmine is done particularly well - no blood and gore.

The friendship between the two characters is clear by how well Luk tends to her but I think the twist at the end is what makes this a truly useful book. On the very last page it is revealed that Luk has also lost part of his leg to a landmine.

This is a great book for looking at the ethics of landmine usage during wars with particular focus on the long term consequences. If you have older students you could use this as a debate topic. Another idea would be to have your students research about landmine injuries in different countries and graph the results. A discussion could then be had about what should be done at this point to minimise the risk to others.

If you have younger students then focus on the friendship between Mali and Luk and how they both overcome the partial loss of a limb to continue with their life. A really good point if you are looking for a book to use at the start of the year to focus on perseverance and friendship.

On a side note, my 23 month old son absolutely adored looking at the pictures in this book. He sat quietly flipping through the book for a good 15 mins (which is an unusually long period of time for him to be focused on one book).




Get to know the author
Click HERE to visit Jane Jolly's official website