Elmer and the Lost Teddy David McKee

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Elmer and the Lost Teddy
David McKee
Andersen Press
Why do we like this book?
Elmer, the colourful patchwork elephant is everyone’s favourite elephant! We
love the whole Elmer series by David McKee which embraces diversity, and its
subtle message that it’s okay to be different – this book also introduces the
themes of sharing and helping others.
Elmer and the Lost Teddy, on the blue branch of the story tree, will help you
deliver key aspects of the National Curriculum’s Early Years Foundation
Stage – helping children understand cultural and physical differences,
building self-confidence and self-esteem and using stories to reflect on their
own experiences.
Encourage emotional development through group discussions. The clear structure of the story makes it
ideal for checking children’s comprehension and developing their awareness of their own needs, views and
feelings. Ask them: why was Baby Elephant crying? Why do you think Elmer was helping? Why was the
teddy crying? What has made you upset in the past? Have you made someone else upset? What made you
feel better? Also try – The Bear in the Cave
Develop writing and numeracy skills for different purposes. Books are not just for story time – introduce
them in other lessons, for example numeracy. Ask the children to count the different types of animals they
see in the book, or make a numerical list of the order Elmer meets the animals.
Observe and identify differences in Elmer’s world compared to a real elephant in its natural habitat.
Show images of African and Asian elephants and encourage children to identify the differences in the
environment. Explore these differences by drawing, painting, or creating an engaging collage of what they
like best about the different environments.
Understanding other cultures, beliefs and needs. The book can also help you introduce cultural
awareness to children – help them understand that everyone is different. Invite people from a range of
cultural backgrounds into the classroom to talk to the children about their lives.
Extending vocabulary, explore meanings and
sounds of new words – try other stories that feature
many different animals Dear Zoo, Ten in the Bed, and
Farmer Duck
Communicating through ideas, materials and tools.
Arts and crafts activities are really good for introducing
children to different types of equipment – scissors, glue,
sticky tape, paints, pencils and crayons. We have a host
of other great resources for your classroom such as a
great activity for making an Elmer mask – use them to
extend the story and the learning from it, while it is still
fresh in their minds. Find it in Parents, Carers and
Teachers> Resources> Elmer Resources
Visit www.andersenpress.co.uk for more on Elmer