Pistes d'exploration

Share personal experiences about neighbours. What makes a good or bad neighbour? Predict what might happen if your neighbour were a dog.

The parents and the child in the story feel very differently about the new neighbours. Compare the parents’ concerns to the actual outcome. Who do you agree with?

Write a persuasive letter to the parents convincing them not to move.

Share personal experiences with neighbours. What makes a good or bad neighbour? Predict what might happen if your neighbour were a dog.

When the new neighbours move in, the parents’ reactions are very different from the child’s. Compare the two using a graphic organizer. How would you react, and why?

The last neighbours to move in are the bears. Write a story in the same style for them, or for the giraffes in their new apartment.

Madlenka

Mots-clés

Picture book , acceptance , animals , city life , neighbours , stereotypes , tolerance

Commentaire descriptif

A little girl lives in a quiet apartment building until all kinds of animals start moving in. There is the saxophone-playing dog (that helpfully gets the newspaper), a pair of elephants (happy to wash neighborhood cars) and finally, a crocodile (a bit scary at first, but very generous). The girl’s parents do not match her curiosity and open nature: the elephants take up too much space on the clothesline and the dog leaves hair all over. Sadly, the girl’s family moves away, though she looks forward to returning when she grows up. Illustrations with a limited palette of blues and reds lend a sophisticated elegance to the busy clusters of buildings, suitcases and neighbours that fill the pages. The story is told in straightforward prose from the little girl’s point of view, in a charming conversational tone: “I actually found them the elephants to be quite nice. They helped me wash my father’s car. What’s better than that?!” A simple, thought-provoking tale of tolerance and acceptance.