Okapi Loves His Zebra Pants - Terri Tatchell - ★★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Terri Tatchell
ILLUSTRATOR: Ivan Sulima
SERIES: Endangered and Misunderstood Animals, #3
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
RATING: 4.75 stars.

What a gorgeous book this is! It delivers highly on story and moral and illustrations.

Okapi adores his lovely striped legs. But when a naughty chimp teases him for having stolen “zebra pants”, he starts questioning his unique legs. As he hasn’t ever seen a zebra, he decides to go across the jungle to locate a zebra. Accompanying him on this journey is his best friend, an African Grey parrot. They meet a huge variety of animals such as gorillas, lions, elephants, hippos and so on. And finally, Okapi spots a whole zebra herd and discovers, to his surprise, that they are entirely striped, unlike him.

This is a beautiful book about self-acceptance and friendship. There is also a segment where the parrot teaches the chimp how we shouldn’t be mean to others about looks.

The content is written in rhythmic prose that works wonderfully without feeling forced. There are at least two quatrains of verse on every single page, so though this is a typical 32 page picture book, it feels like it has much more content.

Children are sure to enjoy this cute story that delivers such a beautiful message. Plus, they get to meet a whole load of fascinating African animals. The illustrations are also adorable. There are some fun facts about okapi and African greys at the end and also some tips on how you can help endangered animals.

This is perfect for read-alouds at home and school. Heartily recommended.

If you are looking for one more compelling reason to buy this gem, note that all proceeds from the sale of this book will go into the conservation of okapi.

Courtesy the author, there are free activity sheets, animal facts and resources for parents and teachers on www.endangeredandmisunderstood.com. Check it out.

In case you are interested in this amazing series, here are the other four books in order, though they are all standalone titles.




When I had read them, each of these titles were available on KU. 

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