PPBF: The Happy Elf

So many simple pleasures that fill me with joy . . .  and one of them is s that Tabitha over at Scrapbook of a School Counselor is posting Counselor Confessionals and I've been invited to be her first guest. If you want to read about my very first mentor in my journey as a counselor, click {here} to go there.
For today's PPBF, the first three seasonal picks this month that are sure to pique your curiosity, lift your spirits, and bring holiday joy and cheer.


Title: The Happy Elf
Author: Harry Connick, Jr.
Illustrator: Dan Andreasen
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date: September 27, 2011
Suitable for ages: 4 and up
Themes: feelings, attitude, kindness, helping, giving, caring
Brief synopsis: Eubie the elf has a problem. He's happy, too happy, annoyingly happy. His exuberance gets him assigned to a task that'll get him out of the other elves' way: Check the naughty and nice list. That's how he comes on the information that there's actually a town where every child is on the naughty list. Will Eubie risk his chance to ride on Santa's sleigh to help?
Opening sentence:  Eubie was the happiest elf at the North Pole. He loved working in Santa's magical workshop. He loved making toys for good girls and boys. He loved playing with his friends Gilda and Derek.

Most of all, Eubie LOVED Christmas.

A Christmastime he would wake up early each morning and yell, "YIPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEE!" as loud as his little elf vocal cords would let him.

Resources: The story behind The Happy Elf song {here}

Why I like this book:  This book is about a selfless little elf who risks getting in trouble by taking it upon himself to leave the North Pole in search of a way to help the kids of Bluesville find their way off of the naughty list and back to being nice. What's not to like about that? Is it a little cheesy? Probably. And kind of predictable? Yeah, but it's a sweet, sentimental story that seems to fit here at holiday time. 

What I'd do to bring this story to life: Start with the front cover; what can my students infer about what's inside the gift he's holding from the title and the picture of Eubie? I'll ask them to make a prediction, then read through the story, stopping periodically to let them make inferences and predictions. Follow up with inquiries like this: What was Eubie's experience like? What risks did Eubie take? Who helped him and why? What kindnesses did he show? How did that gift come back to him? What does the book say is the secret to happiness? Is happiness always a choice? Is kindness?
 Give real-life examples.

You could also prompt some higher-level thinking by asking them to compare and contrast Herbie, the elf from Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer with Eubie, the Happy Elf. How are they the same? How are they different? 

Or ask them to compare their own personal elves (if they have one) or an Elf from another holiday story with Eubie.

Finally, have students write a persuasive paragraph to Santa to try to convince him to send Eubie to your town ... or to Eubie ... asking him to come and help you solve a problem in your town that needs fixing ... who wouldn't LOVE a visit from The Happy Elf!