The Children’s Book Review | May 6, 2016
Paperback Book: 24 pages
Age Range: 3-5 years
Publisher: Penguin Random House, Grosset & Dunlap
ISBN-13: 9781101994986
What to expect: Ella the Elephant, Talent Shows
Ella the Elephant discovers that talent can be found anywhere!
Mrs. Briggs, Ella’s teacher, announces to the class that they will be putting on a talent show. The whole class is excited – Frankie will play his one-man-band, Ada and Ida will sing a duet, and Belinda will dance a ballet routine. But Ella doesn’t know what her special talent is. While she decides, Mrs. Briggs asks her to write introductions for each of the acts, and Ella will try her hand at different talents to find her own.
First, Ella tries out ballet with Belinda. With a bump and a fall, she realizes ballet may not be her thing. She does, however, come up with a new name for her act: Beautiful Belinda Blue and Her Banana Ballet! With Ada and Ida, she lends her voice to singing. “I don’t think I’m cut out for singing,” Ella says. She then dubs the twins, “Seeing Double.” Frankie is next, and she creates a cute name for his act, too. “Frankie on his Boom-Boom-Kazoomba-Trombu-lele.” After trying all the talents and not finding one for her own, Ella decides to help out backstage. But on the night of the show, Mrs. Briggs cannot speak – she needs Ella to host the show! And when a series of mishaps almost ruin the show, Ella solves all the problems with her creative thinking. Maybe Ella has found her talent after all – “host, writer and problem-fixer.” She hosts the show to great success, and everyone has the best talent show ever.
This is an adorable book about finding one’s hidden talents. Sometimes talents are not always obvious, but with patience and hard work everyone can find something they are good at. This is a great book for kids who aren’t always the star. There is virtue in hard work and helping others, and it is often underrated. What a cute way to show children that everything counts! The illustrations are just like the show we know and love, and the prose is simple and accessible for the age range. Highly recommended.
Add this book to your collection: Ella’s Got Talent: Ella the Elephant
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Ella’s Got Talent: Ella the Elephant was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like Ella’s Got Talent: Ella the Elephant by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Elephant Books and Ella the Elephant.