#blogbookaday: Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back?
Summary: “Persnickety Elephant has an itch–a big one–and he can’t reach it! While he isn’t above asking for a little help, no one is up to the task. Turtle is too lazy, Snail is too slimy, and Alligator… well, Elephant isn’t sure he wants his assistance. Does Elephant have to do everything himself?” (Taken from Goodreads)
Review: All Elephant is looking for is someone who will scratch his back… but he’s having the worst luck! Mr. Crocodile looks hungry, Hippo just keep bumping into him, Snake’s fangs are too sharp, and the meerkats keep tickling him. What’s an elephant to do?
Personal Reaction: I loved the funny aspect of this book with characters coming up with reasons why they can’t or their help really isn’t want Elephant needs. It would make a really great Reader’s Theater skit to teach kids about showing emotion and interacting with other actors. And the simple illustrations are perfect with a little lightning bolt shape to symbolize his itch. It’s perfect! My only hangups and there are two that I can’t ignore are that every character that is identified is male… not a single female character and when Elephant finally gets help, he ends up tossing him (literally) aside when he’s done. It’s a silly illustration, but I didn’t like that the elephant not saying thank you or being appreciative of the animal who helped him. A simple way to fix this would be to ask the child(ren) you’re reading with if that’s really what Elephant should or what he could have done differently. A quick aside that only takes a second and won’t disrupt the story too much.
Title: Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back?
Author: Jory John
Illustrator: Liz Climo
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: March 20, 2018
This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!
