Elsie

by Nadine Robert, Maja Kastelic (Illustratrice)

La famille Filpot comptait sept enfants. Sept enfants aux yeux ronds et brillants. Francis, Florian, les jumelles Flavie et Franzi, Fernand, Félice et la petite Elsie. Le dimanche, par beau temps, ils aimaient aller à la pêche. Les frères et soeurs Filpot s'entendaient à merveille ! Ils aimaient les mêmes choses et avaient souvent les mêmes idées, au même moment. À part peut être la petite dernière: Elsie.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Rabbits

40 pages, Unknown Binding

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Nadine Robert began her career as a video–game designer and director of animated films. As the founder of the publishing house Comme des géants, she has always had a strong passion for illustrated children’s books that have a powerfully built narrative approach combined with strong images. Her book, On the Other Side of the Forest, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book. She lives in Montréal with her family.

Reviews

[Jolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les images sont sublimes, et l’histoire très jolie.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...

ELSIE is a cute story about a bunny who does not always think like her siblings. Elsie is the youngest of seven rabbits. The rabbits go fishing on Sundays when the weather is nice, and though Elsie would rather read her book, her brothers and sisters make her come. Elsie seems to do everything a little differently, but it ultimately ends up being her methods that catch the fish. Her brothers and sisters start to see Elsie's way of doing things as something to consider.

What I loved: The illustrations here are really detailed and full of interesting things to look at. Elsie is a whimsical and cute character whose personality comes through the story well. The book has an interesting rhythm to the text, with each of the siblings saying something before Elsie, and then all responding in chorus to her. The book is really easy to read with large and clear font printed in black on white at the edge of each page. There is also some encouragement to celebrate a different way of doing things, because it may achieve great results.

What left me wanting more: Each page is pretty lengthy in terms of writing, and it's somewhat tough to have seven main characters who speak on every page in terms of identifying them and following along easily. However, with each reread, this does become easier.

Final verdict: Overall, ELSIE is a lovely picture book that celebrates the unique way each person tackles life. With lush and detailed illustrations and an adorable main character, this is a great read for the preschool and young elementary school-aged audience.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Sushie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Iggi's Storytime Criteria
Age group: Kindergarten +
Content: originality, leadership, peer pressure, family dynamics, fishing, nature
Plot: Elsie is different than her siblings, she's the only brown bunny in a family of gray bunnies and she often wants to do things her own way while her other siblings all agree. Elsie's idea to bait a fish hook with a flower nets them all a big catch and leads the siblings to listen to her instead of dismissing her off hand.
Wordiness: High- all seven siblings say something on each page and then Elsie says something and then they reply in unison
Length: Medium
Illustrations: Beautiful, best part of the book. They're rich and detailed with tons of fun little things it would be impossible to show with our virtual storytime set up.
Other: Very much in the style of old fashioned children's stories, super Goldenbook vibes, cute and rural, but kind of surreal at the same time (rabbits fishing?)

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A gentle intro into diversity and acceptance"....a nice and alluring tagline. However, I am not really sure where that fits into this book. They are all rabbits. They never come across anything other than a fish (which they catch/kill). Elsie bunny is a bit different, yes, but she just seems to march to the beat of her own drum. What kid doesn't do that? The story was very long and very repetitive. You are going to get very tired of saying the name of each rabbit over and over and over and over again.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this while looking for other books and had to grab it. The illustrations remind me of Richard Scarry's. The Filpot family has 7 bunny children (and no adults?). Six like to do the same thing together, but Elsie, the youngest does things differently. When Elsie's different fishing method leads to a better result, they begin to see doing things differently can work too. It's a good sibling dynamic book. You can tell, in my opinion, that this book is from outside the U.S., with X eyes for the caught fish in an otherwise charming, happy story.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really concerned that this book has a tag that states "a gentle introduction to diversity and acceptance" okay acceptance yes, but diversity? Not once did the bunnies run into another critter that looked differently than them. Maybe it should be a tag about uniqueness and accepting yourself regardless of what others think -- including siblings. Odd. Beautiful illustrations were the redeeming factor for me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has beautiful and vibrant illustrations. It has been translated and was originally published in France. It is a little Richard Scarry like. I think children will enjoy the book but I am not certain it has enough hooks. Basically, it is about a youngest child knowing best for once. It's cute.

[Kamila Zikmundová · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pro děti od 3 let
Mě osobně příběh neoslovil. Syn od něj odbíhal, takže předpokládám, že ani jeho.
Na zadní straně obálky se píše, že jde o příběh s důležitým poselstvím - naslouchejme druhým a respektujme je. Ajaj, tak já to poselství nějak v příběhu neodhalila. Teda až jsem si to na obálce přečetla, tak jako jo, je to tam, ale do té doby úplná tma.

[Ka Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quelles belles illustrations !
Nous suivons Elsie et sa famille lors d'une sortie en nature. Elsie, la dernière de la famille, a souvent des idées différentes que les autres membres de la famille mettent rapidement de côté jusqu'à ce qu'Elsie prouve qu'elle peut aussi avoir raison !

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young bunny wins her siblings’ respect. Originally published in France.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elsie is a bunny who has really embraced being her own little person, and she is really okay with that.

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premise of "trying things a different way" but it just seemed to fall a little flat in the story telling department for me.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations, but I thought the story was long and weird.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several siblings all whose name begin with the letter F go fishing and constantly tell the youngest she is wrong. Will she outsmart them? Elementary

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elsie catches a fish without the help of her siblings.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming story of a rabbit who follows the beat of her own drum while going along with her siblings on a fishing trip, where her unconventional methods bring success.

[BJ Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Cute illustrations. Creative structure. Reminds me a bit of a story a child would write.