28th July Talk in the Elevator Day

Talk In An Elevator Day tells us to break that awkward silence that exists when you are in a lift with other people. You never know you may make a new friend or two in the lift. Who knows what can come of just speaking up and introducing yourself?

Not something you would usually do? Me neither, but a few years ago, in 2020 one of the books on the Early Childhood shortlist for Book Week was We're Stuck! by Sue deGennaro and it was about exactly that. A group of characters who all live in the same apartment block are trapped in the lift, what Australians call an elevator, and because they are there for quite some time they do finally speak to each other. It is Turtle's birthday and the other occupants in the lift contribute to the makeshift celebrations for his special day.

When I read the book initially, I thought it was quite lightweight, but the more I read it with classes and saw how the students reacted, the more I warmed to this book. The students wanted to share their own experiences in lifts and apartment blocks. They wanted to talk about what they had learned about each of the characters and they wanted to use clues in the book to match each character to where they lived in Building 24. This book is the perfect book to share on this day whether you call it a lift as this book does or an elevator which it will use if the book is available in the USA.

There's not a lot of children's books that feature elevators, but these will be easy to locate in a library.

• Eloise by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight tells the story of a small girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York. She goes up and down all day in the elevator and there is a full page diagram of her travels in the book.

• LIFT  by Minh Le and Dan Santat Meet Iris, the big sister in a family, with a very important job — to push the elevator buttons every time her family rides the elevator. Until, that is, the day that her little brother usurps her place in the family, not only stealing her beloved tiger toy, but also… pushing the elevator buttons! Iris’s way of expressing her jealousy and frustration (pushing every single elevator button the next time they ride…) doesn’t go over very well with her family.

• Elevator Magic  by Stuart Murphy and Brian Karas This is a book about the maths concept subtraction. As the elevator goes down, the subtraction starts, and so does the magic. Ben sees crazy things every time the door opens. Ride along as he subtracts his way down to the lobby, and decide for yourself if it’s elevator magic. 

• Going Up!  by Sherry J. Lee and Charlene Chua It is Olive's birthday party, and Sophie and her dad have baked cookies. Sophie's dad holds the platter so Sophie can push the elevator button for the tenth floor. But on the way up, the elevator stops to let others get on. As the elevator ascends, it keeps stopping, and more neighbours squeeze in to the crowded space.

• Elevator Bird  by Sarah Williamson It takes a strong team to keep the Hotel running smoothly, and Elevator Bird is at the centre of it all.  He helps guests get to their rooms and gives great advice about all the best sights in town. He helps the staff get where they need to go, and always has an encouraging word. Elevator Bird makes everyone's day brighter. 

• Charlie and the Great  Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl