Mela and the Elephant

Picture book, 32 pages. A fable -- filled with Thai customs and traditions - about kindness is its own reward. Published in 2018 by Sleeping Bear Press. Recognized in The 50 Best Multicultural Picture Books of 2018.

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Book Recap

Mela refuses to take her brother on an exploration down to the river because he has nothing to give her in return. Along the way, Mela gets lost and the animals who offer to help her snatch up the rewards she offers without taking her home. Only the Elephant shows her kindness by taking Mela to her village without any reward.

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Learning Suggestions

Family Read Aloud Time
This is a wonderful book to read at family time or bedtime to reinforce  the values of kindness, gratitude and sibling affection.

Learning at Home
A geography unit for littles could be as simple as learning country names on a map and the animal most associated with the country followed by as many read alouds about either or both! Visually associating names, animals and countries while hearing lovely stories is an excellent primer for our preschool-aged kiddos.

Classroom Options
Mela and the Elephant is a great book to add to your resources about Thailand, as well as a good introduction to the importance elephants play in Thai culture and beliefs.

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Dow Phumiruk

Dow is a pediatrician as well as an illustrator and author of children's books! The subjects she chooses as an author of picture books include Katherine Johnson of Apollo 13 fame and May Lin! Dow's family emigrated to the US from Thailand when Dow was just a toddler herself.

Ziyue Chen

Chen is a Singapore book illustrator and a new Mum! Her client list is extensive, as is her list of awards and recognition. One book filled with her art which I cannot wait to read is Enough! 20 Protestors Who Changed America by Emily Easton.

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