Elsie Mae Has Something To Say

Elsie Mae Has Something To Say

By Nancy J. Cavanaugh

Published by SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky

Sept. 5, 2017

I received a complimentary copy of Elsie Mae Has Something To Say from SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky through NetGalley.

Elsie Mae Has Something To Say description from Goodreads.

Elsie Mae Has Something To Say is a book that touches the heart of all its readers. It is packed with adventure, family, love, friendship, and a little mystery. It reminds me of A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago.

This book will be a favorite of middle school readers because it is a story about a little girl in a setting that few middle schoolers have ever visited and are only exposed to it through television shows like Swamp People.  The Okefenokee Swamp is filled with gators and quick sand, but it is also filled with Elsie Mae’s family, swamp traditions and culture. The swamp offers adventures that are only possible in its murky, still waters. Children will relate to the possibility of Okefenokee Swamp being destroyed for a shipping company to build a canal because they are bombarded with scenarios like this in today’s news. They will cheer for Elise Mae as she fights to save a place she loves and treasures. Elsie Mae is a heroine and proves even children can make a difference in the world.

Readers will also fall in love with the characters. The perspective of Elsie Mae allows the reader to view the characters through the eyes of a young girl. All readers will be able to relate to Elsie Mae when she thinks that her summer will be ruined when cousin Henry James comes to stay in the swamp. Of course the adults love him because he is such a sweet Bible quoting want-to-be preacher, but Elsie Mae sees none of that. She only finds him annoying, as will the readers.  Everyone has had a cousin Henry James!  Huck, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Owen and Uncle Lone will also find very special places in the reader’s heart.

Elsie Mae Has Something To Say can be a great teaching tool in the ELA classroom. It can be used in activities about:

• character traits
• reader’s opinion of characters changing throughout a book
• environmental awareness
• letter writing
• dialect in dialogue

I also think a great writing activity might be to have students write additional chapters about Elsie Mae, Henry, and Huck in the Okefenokee Swamp.