Just a Little Bit

by Ann Tompert, Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

When an elephant and a mouse try to play on a seesaw, they need help from a vast number of animal friends to balance the scales.

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 1993

About the author

Ann Tompert is an award-winning children's book author who has written more than 20 books, including Harry's Hats, Just a Little Bit, and Little Fox Goes to the End of the World.

Reviews

[Keegan Taylor]

Without looking at other people's reviews, I'm going to guess I'm not the only one who thought it was odd that the lion was called a "she" but had a mane. My husband suggested that the illustrator hadn't read the text carefully enough. A bit awkward though. Otherwise the idea of the book is great. An elephant and mouse want to teeter-totter together, so a bunch of animals join the mouse to even out the weight. It made me curious about whether the weight would really be fairly accurate or if they over-did or under-did the mouse's side in the end. I think we may look into as part of our school just for fun

[Paige P]

This book is a cute story explaining to kids that every little but helps. I loved how the elephant never gave up and never became discouraged about his size - even when some of the other animals lost hope.

[Tatiana]

This was a cute book! I used it during a weight measurement lesson. The students (1st grade) loved predicting how many animals it would take to balance out the seesaw.

[Diana Gonzalez]

2. BRIEF REVIEW
Entertaining children’s fiction book, I believe students would truly enjoy reading this book! To get them excited, the teacher can ask them what their favorite park recreation is/was (swings, slide, monkey-bars See-saw etc). After reading the book children will feel inspired not to take things for granted. This is a meaningful book and I would recommend it to all teachers because it teaches children that every bit counts no matter the size or amount.

3. CONTENT AREAS
I would use this book to teach elementary age kids in a math or science class. In math the book can be used to introduce students to equivalent fractions for example ½ = 2/4 = 10/20 and so on. Another subject in which this book would be meaningful is science or even gastronomy. Students could learn about measurements: 8 oz.= 1 cup, 4 cups = 1 quart, 4 quarts = 1 gallon and so on. Students could use water to put measurements to the test. In a secondary education cooking course, the teacher can assign each group of students different measurements that are equivalent to each other and have the students create the same recipes.

4. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
a. Who was your favorite character and why? My favorite character was the small brown beetle because when the crown was discouraged and thought the animals would never be able to make the seesaw move, that little beetle contributed by landing on the mouse’s nose and making things possible.

b. How was the story different than you predicted? Initially, I thought that the smaller animals would be the first to join the mouse. I did not expect the giraffe to be the first to climb on the seesaw to help the mouse and I certainly did not expect that insects would be included.

c. Describe a situation in which you were ready to give up? One time, during a track meet I was tired and I wanted to slow down but when I turned my head back and saw that another runner was catching up to me I knew I had no choice but to “give it all I had” –as my track coach would to say.

5. WONDERS
I wonder…
1. How much did the elephant weight?
2. How big was the seesaw?
3. What material was the seesaw made of?

[Angela]

Best for kids ages 4 and up
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Narrative Skills

From cover:
One day in the park, Elephant and Mouse decided to try the seesaw. But when Elephant sits on the down side of the seesaw and Mouse climbs to the very edge of the up side, nothing happens! It seems that they need some help! So one by one their friends lend their efforts, and at the last minute Elephant and Mouse get just that little extra but of help they need.

Fun illustrations that match the whimsical tale and teaches kids that no matter how small you are you can make a difference.

[Brittany]

This book is about friendship and measurement. I can use this book as a read aloud. In this boo I can teach how friends can be diverse and how students do not have to be friends with someone that looks like themselves. Also I could use this book to introduce a lesson on measurement, weight and balance scales. We could have a hands on project where the students have to estimate how many chips could be used to balance out the objec I provide for the students.

[Kelly Powell]

This book definitely showed what can happen when everyone helps, even those who are small. I loved this storyline because of the friendship shown and how everyone work together so that even the elephant could play on the sea-saw. I think the repeptition in the book is great for children learning to read as well as the different animal names given along with showing them in the illustrations for context clue if the word is a little tricky.

[Cornelius Library]

Elephant and mouse were playing at the playground and decide to play on the seesaw. But when Mouse sat on the opposite end of Elephant, nothing happened. Animal friend after animal friend sit with Mouse trying to add some extra weight in order to get the seesaw to go down, but it isn't working, that is until an unlikely friend steps in at the very end.

No matter how small you are, every little bit counts.

[Maria]

Elephant and mouse were playing at the playground and decide to play on the seesaw. But when Mouse sat on the opposite end of Elephant, nothing happened. Animal friend after animal friend sit with Mouse trying to add some extra weight in order to get the seesaw to go down, but it isn't working, that is until an unlikely friend steps in at the very end. No matter how small you are, every little bit counts.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez]

I get tired of books with this much repetitiveness. And I wouldn't even really mention that being as how I didn't exactly read this for my own enjoyment but... my five-year old daughter gets tired of it too.
She's a little mature for her age but to be honest she's not exactly reading Jane Austen. So for her to be bored with this shows me that far too many books are strolling along this path.

[Katrina Kim]

Hidden curriculum:
-teamwork
- diversity

Math concepts introduced:
- weight
-mass
- light vs. heavy
- balance

* Have a home-made swing & balance a bag full of marbles
- introduce more and less

Students in the 1st-2nd grade would benefit the most..perhaps even introduced in kindergarten.

[Kim]

This book was so fun to read to my kids when they were little, and I still love this book. It shows just how everyone can help no matter what size they are. The illustrations are so funny and are a wonderful addition to the story.

[Holly]

This is another great children's book. This story is about an Elephant who needs just a bit more help to play. Along comes a lot of animals friends to help him but at the end it takes just a teeny, tiny, bit more of help. I hope you love this story as much as I have!

[Kate Matheis]

The elephant and the mouse sit on the see-saw and the mouse cannot push its side down. All the animals come to help by sitting with the mouse. Just when they are about to give up a beetle sits with them and the weight is finally balanced.

[Peggy Smith]

Really it's the drawings that make this book. The story is good, but not great. And I might have even said just ok, if it wasn't for the pictures.

[Hira]

math/ prediction/ pictures

[Monique Mcdonald]

Good book for the math concept of weight

[Tania]

May want to judge the appropriateness of this text in relation to your students just so that no one is offended if they are not at an ideal weight.

[Rima Halig]

Very good book on teamwork. I like how they show various sizes of animals. To me it represented the various cultures and backgrounds we will see in our classrooms

[Randie D. Camp, M.S.]

Great for connecting to math concepts.

[Jim]

such Wonderful art!

[Kathryn Joyce]

This would be a nice choice in introducing balancing. I would use it in a measurement or weight unit. We could use scales to demonstrate the ideas in the book.

[Katie Fitzgerald]

Read at drop-in story time on 11/13/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Sarah Ziskend]

1. Weight
2. Mass
3. Force
4. Great read aloud
5. Make predictions about how different animals will work on the seesaw

[Lindsay]

wild animals, balance - I love the illustrations of the animals piling on the other side of the teeter totter. A great book for exploring balance, weight and gravity.

[Buxmont Uu]

WAMWAO Session 36

[Cora]

Cute! Read this to my third grade tutoring class.

[Alyssa Overstreet]

An elephant and a mouse want to seesaw

Animals need to be added to the I help the elephant go down

A tiny fly finally is enough

Everything/one is important

[Debra McEathron]

This is a really cute children's book. My 1st grade students have really enjoyed reading the story and loved how all the animals helped elephant and mouse.They loved the repetition.

[Ijanaya Jacob-Brown]

Cute book that teaches kids about teamwork, that small efforts can make a difference and to be caring and empathetic towards others.