'Elvie the Eel' is a wonderful rhyming story about a young yellow eel who has left her elver family to grow up amongst the reeds in the river. She doesn't like being alone, so she decides to swim far and wide to look for a friend. Finally, after many challenges and scary moments, Elvie finds the perfect friend to live with. They will be together for many years until they turn into silver eels and can return to the Sargasso Sea.

Each of the following books deals with issues that youngsters often face each day. Through these fun rhyming stories, we learn how these daily challenges can be overcome.

‘I see a Rhinoceros’ tells the tale of a rhinoceros who turns the brightest shade of pink. When the other animals confront him about his unusual colour, he denies that anything is wrong. When he eventually see his reflection in the lake, he is shocked.  His friends help him to balance his diet to turn back to grey - but if he eats too many pink foods his tail quickly lets him know!  So many children are really picky about what they eat. Often they only eat one or two foods that they prefer. 'I see a Rhinoceros' deals with this issue nicely. The story leads into discussion about what we eat, what we like to eat and what we think we should eat.

‘I see a Lion’ tells the tale of a lion who is wearing woolly socks. When the rest of the lion family appears, all of them are dressed for winter, in hats, scarves and mittens. When asked why, they find out who has been helping to keep everyone warm.  We all have different skills and abilities. ‘I see a Lion’ shows us how we can help our friends by sharing our skills. This story is great to start discussions on what we are good at doing and what we enjoy doing. Also how we can use these skills to help others. 

‘I see a Leopard’ tells the tale of a leopard who goes swimming in order to visit his friend Catfish. When Catfish serves up her favourite of wiggly worms, Leopard is distressed to discover that they keep slipping away and are not easy to eat. Luckily their pond friends lend a hand to make sure that they both have a nice lunch.  This story illustrates that we sometimes have to adapt to connect with other people. Discussion topics could include, learning a new language or method of communication, eating foods we are not used to or entering a new environment.

'I see an Elephant’ tells the tale of an elephant who wants to build a home in a tree. He starts to build a nest, but when the birds laugh at his attempts and try to chase him away, Elephant takes a stand.  It is not easy to fit in with everyone. 'I see an Elephant' tackles this issue nicely. This lovely story shows us how Elephant is accepted into the bird’s world and learns to fit in. It is a great book to start discussions with little ones who are not comfortable starting a new school, joining a new group or moving into a new neighbourhood

‘I See a Buffalo’ tells the tale of a young buffalo who is distressed by her size. She wants to join the other animals at play, but her bulk and ungainliness make her self-conscious. When the animals turn her away, Buffalo decides to keep to herself and accept her loneliness. But when a huge storm creates a sudden flood, Buffalo realises she can save the day. Time and again, she wades into the floodwaters to save the smaller animals. By the end of the day, everyone understands that it is not the shape of your body that counts, but the size of your heart.  We all have different hair colour, skin colour, size, shape and abilities. This book is wonderful to start discussions on how each person looks different and that we are all special and important.