Elephants Never Forget

by Anushka Ravishankar, Christiane Pieper (Illustrator)

Overview

Crraack! Flash! Boom! When a terrible storm scatters a group of elephants, one tiny member of the herd is left behind in the loud, chittering jungle. Where can he turn? The water buffalo look nice enough, but he couldn’t become a part of their herd . . . could he?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547529202
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/21/2008
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anushka Ravishankar is the author of several delightful verse tales for children. Recognized as the first poet to adapt the nonsense verse form to the rich cadences of Indian English, Ms. Ravishankar’s award-winning tales have delighted a worldwide audience of readers both young and old. She lives in Delhi, India.

Editorial Reviews

Elephants never forget-but that doesn't mean they can't change. Ravishankar, who lives in India, writes lively verse about a young elephant who finds a new home with a herd of water buffalo ("With a buffalo calf/ He tumbled and wallowed./ The buffalo led/ And the elephant followed"). Her story is full of good read-aloud noises ("Toooot! Toooot! Toooot!/ The elephants called./ Belloow! Belloooow!/ The buffaloes bawled") and moves with assurance toward a refreshing conclusion. Pieper (previously paired with Ravishankar for Alphabets Are Amazing Animals) produces digital woodcuts that recall the work of Mary Azarian or Christopher Wormell, eschewing cuteness in favor of strength and clarity. A two-color scheme-black and periwinkle on cream-colored paper-and bold, simple spreads focus attention on the ponderous forms of the elephant and buffalo. Varied compositions as well as printed letters that grow and shrink and dance across the pages match the dexterity of the text with a visual sprightliness. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-K- In somewhat forced rhyming text-"Ccrrrack!/A coconut hit him on the head./Enough, thought the elephant,/And he fled"-Ravishankar relates the story of a young elephant that is separated from his mother during a storm and carried along with some stampeding water buffalo, eventually becoming a useful and valued member of the herd. In the end, when he meets a group of welcoming elephants, he unrealistically chooses to remain with his water buffalo friends. The attractive, digitally created artwork, in black and periwinkle on cream, has the appearance of block prints. Text formatting varies greatly. On some spreads, storm or animal sounds, printed in a variety of sizes from large to immense, are successfully and strikingly incorporated into the illustration. On many others, the short, straight lines of awkwardly placed oversize text pull the eye away from the artwork. The narrative of this Indian import and the formatting of the text are no match for Pieper's well-conceived and well-executed pictures.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

A baby elephant suffers an identity crisis until he discovers where he really belongs. Separated from his herd during a thunderstorm, a little elephant is on his own in the jungle until he stumbles upon the water buffalo hangout. Happy with his new pals, the little elephant wallows and tumbles in the river and when a tiger drives the buffalo herd away, the elephant follows. As he grows big and strong, the elephant helps the buffalo by clearing jungle paths, showering them with his trunk and foraging leaves when the grass is dry. Even though he doesn't fit the buffalo profile with his large ears, long nose and huge physique, the elephant likes being a buffalo until some elephants arrive and he's forced to decide whether to join them or stay with his adopted herd. The onomatopoetic rhyming text effectively captures the cadence of chattering monkeys, bellowing buffalo, roaring tigers and tooting elephants, while bold illustrations reminiscent of primitive block prints embody the moves and moods of jungle critters in a striking palette of black, white and purple. A simple tale of nature versus nurture brilliantly rendered. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews

"A simple tale of nature versus nurture brilliantly rendered." Kirkus, starred, Feb 1 2008 Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"[I]llustrations...suggest woodcuts, their bold and craggy black and appropriately watery blue lending the story energy." The Horn Book March/April 2008 Horn Book

"Varied compositions...match the dexterity of the text with a visual sprightliness." Publishers Weekly 2/25/08 Publishers Weekly

"The attractive, digitally created artwork, in black and periwinkle on cream, has the appearance of block prints." SLJ April 2008 School Library Journal

". . . the chanting, onomatopoeic verse . . . will energize storytimes.” 6/1-6/15/2008 Booklist, ALA

From the Publisher