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Reviewed by Ange Birks, Classroom Teacher, Ohinewai School, North Waikato
Opening sentence
Anthony the Ant has a very short tail, and his days go by as slow as a snail.
Anthony the Ant has an urge to travel so he musters up his courage to leave his home and travel the world. Along the way he meets several new friends, some kind and others not so kind. He learns intersting facts about them and through this he discovers that each one has something to be grateful for and that instead of rejecting his life and looking for more, he was actually among the richest of them all.


An easy read, this book offers plenty of language features to share for instruction. There is rhyme, similie, onamatapaea and lots of interestig vocabulary.

This book would appeal to younger children with bright colourful illustrations which include humerous details the less observant reader may miss. The author has also included at QR code to folow the link to find activities and more.

Ant’s Grand Tale is a story of courage, positive attitudes and gratitude. My Year 6 class especially loved the message at the front of the book – “Don’t be afraid to dream big... and I mean elephant kind of big!

Would this book work as a read aloud? Yes
Author & Illustrator: Deb Bekker
Publisher: Bekker Design Ltd
ISBN: 97804736112856
Format: paperback
Publication: 2022
Ages: 5+
Themes: Positivity, gratitude