Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Expound Publicity to bring you this post.
Do you like origin stories or how animals got their characteristic stories? Some are cultural and some are just made up. Today I get to share a book with you that is fun and a bit silly. It "explains" how ostriches got their long necks and long legs and has a few other messages in it. The book is A Tall Tale: How Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs by Scott Sollers and illustrated by Alejandro Echavez. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
A Tall Tale- How the Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs
Written by Scott Sollers and Illustrated by Alejandro Echavez
Ages 4+ | 38 Pages | Publisher: Stephanie’s Stories (2024) ISBN-13: 9781637557730
Publisher’s Book Summary: This is the story of two rival communities living in valleys separated by a ridge. The Have-Alls live in a fertile, beautiful valley with their leader, Chief Somebody, and their prized pets, the Squatz. In the other valley, one more desolate and barren, live the No-Haves and their leader, Chief Nobody.
The No-Haves, always jealous of the Have-Alls’ pets, decide to gather the Squatz for themselves. What results is a fierce tug-of-war that changes the two communities—and the Squatz—forever!
“A Tall Tale is a humorous and energetic fable, sure to appeal to family audiences and curious questioners.”—The Children’s Book Review
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Having worked as an investment banker in the municipal securities industry for decades, Scott Sollers created this and other nighttime stories for his daughter, Stephanie, when she was a youngster. Originally, he handwrote and illustrated these stories and finally had the inspiration to get them published. Scott still works, is an avid golfer, and leads a not-for-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children. He currently resides in San Mateo, California, with his cat, Charlie.
For more information, visit:
About the Author:
Having worked as an investment banker in the municipal securities industry for decades, Scott Sollers created this and other nighttime stories for his daughter, Stephanie, when she was a youngster. Originally, he handwrote and illustrated these stories and finally had the inspiration to get them published. Scott still works, is an avid golfer, and leads a not-for-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children. He currently resides in San Mateo, California, with his cat, Charlie.
For more information, visit:
From Me:
This story is fun and humorous. Starting with the names of the two societies--Have-Alls and No-Haves. It reminds me a bit of our world. The Have-Alls have everything, and the No-Haves have basically nothing and live in a desert like place. The No-Haves want more and in particular want the Have-All's pets, the Squatz. They decide to steal them one night, but the Have-Alls have posted a guard to awaken them if anyone tries to take their precious Squatz. The two groups of people fight over the birds and the fighting involves tugging on each bird. Over time the birds' necks and legs are stretched. When the fighting ends, the birds want nothing to do with the people and take off. The people however decide to share and all live in the Have-Alls. They become one society.
This story reminds me of my family's story about my neck. Apparently when I was a baby my oldest sister called my middle sister "Little Neck" and me "No Neck." Now I have the longest neck out of the three of us or so we say and always tell them I stretched it out because I didn't like the nickname. Anyway, I love the fact that the ostrich's neck and legs are stretched when the people are fighting. I also love that the birds go away from the people and live on their own. They want their freedom. I am sure the kids will find the stretching humorous.
For older children and adults there may be some connections to how our societies are. We tend to have people with a lot and people with not a lot. Often the theft and such in our world is because those who don't have things need things to live. It is a sad truth but throughout this story I thought about the connection.
I see this story as a great introduction to fables or ostriches. It will be a fun read in a class or story time and there are some fun ostrich crafts out there. I will share a few I found.
Craft Round-Up:
I decided to make an ostrich mask. I figured kids would have fun decorating the masks.
I printed out a template from Super Coloring on cardstock. I colored the beak and eyes (since I wasn't cutting them out as a mask). Did you know ostriches have the largest eyes of any land animals? (Source) I used marker, but this could be painted as well. I highly suggest cutting out the mask at this point. I didn't and regretted it! Then I glued feathers to the mask. I didn't have black and white feathers, so I made mine very colorful. If I was making it into a mask, I would now punch hole in the side tabs and use elastic string to make it wearable.
Here are some fellow bloggers have:
1) Fork-Painted Ostrich Craft from Our Kid Things
2) Construction Paper Ostrich from My Creative Life
3) Cut and Paste Paper Ostrich from Nurtured Neurons
There are many ostrich crafts out there. Some are for the letter O and others are just ostriches. I found some YouTube video tutorials:
The North Carolina Zoo has a fun paper craft ostrich with accordion legs! Learn Create Love also has a free printable ostrich craft template. Kids Activities offers a downloadable ostrich coloring page and so does Little Ladoo.
Giveaway:
Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a copy of A Tall Tale: How Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs and a $25 Amazon gift card! Good luck!
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