A 2018 EUREKA! Honor Award Winner
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018
A The Children’s Book Review Best Non-Fiction Picture Book of 2018
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Gift Guide Selection of 2018
A CBC "Hot Off The Press" Selection of October 2018
A Capitol Choices Book of 2019
Selected for the 2019 Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choices List ★ "Desmond's illustrations are show-stoppers ... A memorable introduction to a living wonder." —Booklist ★ "There are quite a few children's books about these magnificent, endangered mammals, and this one is among the best. The accessible text is supplemented by art that drives home such points as the differences between Asian and African elephants and the way an elephant foot's anatomy resembles a woman's (dark-skinned) leg in high heels. Perhaps the best example is the illustration highlighting the amazing reality of an older male bull's 100-pound, 8-foot-long tusk: The book's protagonist and a friend stretch out, foot-to-foot, along the tusk of a benign-appearing elephant, as the text states that the tusk is "the same length as two seven-year-old children toe to toe." And what fun seeing the boy atop the formidable pyramid of fruit that represents a bull elephant's diet of 700 pounds of plant matter a day! The protagonist is dark-skinned, as is his friend, and the appearance of only one white human face is refreshing, as is the matter-of-fact, nonpreachy tone used when discussing saving elephants from extinction. The text covers elephant territory, anatomy, behaviors, and more, ending with comparisons between sleep for elephants and sleep for humans—a perfect ending for a well-executed book. A must-have for anyone who loves elephants."—STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
★ "An affectionate and informative celebration of two magnificent species."—STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
★ "The mixed-media illustrations are both informative and beautifully executed, with varied motifs and an overall design that imparts complicated facts through clear and clean layouts. An introductory note describing modern threats to elephants sets the stage for learning to begin." —STARRED REVIEW, Betty Carter, The Horn Book
“A powerful and thoughtful story, [The Elephant] will undoubtedly prove to be an enlightening read. [Jenni Desmond] does it again! Her delicate, highly detailed illustrations are coupled with incredulous facts about these gracious animals.” —Sarah Yewman, Picture Books Blogger
"Everything you could ever hope to know about elephants pours forth between playful illustrations of both discovery and facts." —Jessica Sweedler DeHart, The Wandering Bookseller
"Throughout 'The Elephant', Desmond creates illustrations that are scientifically accurate, strikingly detailed, and beautifully rendered in collage, paint, and colored pencil. The result is an informative and entertaining picture book that is unreservedly recommended for family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library collections for children ages 4 to 8." —The Midwest Book Review
”Not only is (The Elephant) impressively well researched and informative, but it manages to paint a breathtakingly compassionate portrait of the lives led by these highly intelligent and magnificent giants of the land, both with engaging storytelling and glorious illustrations…” —Picture This Book
"...a superb work of narrative nonfiction." —Margie Myers-Culver, Librarian's Quest
"The collage, paint, and colored pencil artwork is stunning, rendering detailed, realistic elephants on every page, while keeping readers aware that this is a child’s journey; the boy shows up, cartoon-like, in spreads, sporting a red crown and, sometimes, a friend. [...] This superb volume is a wonderful way to connect reading, imagination, and nonfiction—nonfiction is great for dreamers, too, after all!" —Rosemary Kiladitis, Mom Read It
”Accessible and beautifully-phrased paragraphs are packed with fascinating details about this mighty and graceful animal… As in the other books in the series, a red-crowned child helps to showcase the elephant’s unique qualities, while also providing a touch of whimsy to the otherwise remarkably realistic art. […] But the heart of this book lies in its poignant exploration of the elephant’s social and emotional intelligence.” — Melissa LaSalle, What to Read to Your Kids
★ 11/01/2018
K-Gr 3—Text and striking watercolor drawings combine to use both fact and fantasy to convey information about a beloved and endangered animal. The nicely rounded story begins with a crown-wearing boy, lying on a rug in a cozy, elephant-themed room, reading this very book. On three subsequent spreads a map shows where elephants can be found, labeled images compare African and Asian elephants, and a pile of cars creates a striking visualization of their potential size. In the final image, the young child has fallen asleep, still on the rug. Facts about family bonds, physical characteristics, behavior, food and feeding, nurturing, and typical activities are relayed in a smoothly written text of short paragraphs. Comparisons familiar to children abound. Threats to elephants are described in an opening author's note. Desmond thanks expert advisers, but provides no suggestions for further learning. The boy's stuffed animals call to mind previous titles in the author-illustrator's series about iconic endangered animals, The Blue Whale and The Polar Bear. VERDICT This appealing and informative introduction to elephants would make a lovely addition to animal collections.—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
★ 2018-09-17
As a young boy in a striped shirt and blue jeans reads his book about elephants, readers learn facts along with him.
Delightful art gracefully meanders back and forth between Sendak-ian people and objects and almost photorealistic representations of elephants in their natural habitats. There are quite a few children's books about these magnificent, endangered mammals, and this one is among the best. The accessible text is supplemented by art that drives home such points as the differences between Asian and African elephants and the way an elephant foot's anatomy resembles a woman's (dark-skinned) leg in high heels. Perhaps the best example is the illustration highlighting the amazing reality of an older male bull's 100-pound, 8-foot-long tusk: The book's protagonist and a friend stretch out, foot-to-foot, along the tusk of a benign-appearing elephant, as the text states that the tusk is "the same length as two seven-year-old children toe to toe." And what fun seeing the boy atop the formidable pyramid of fruit that represents a bull elephant's diet of 700 pounds of plant matter a day! The protagonist is dark-skinned, as is his friend, and the appearance of only one white human face is refreshing, as is the matter-of-fact, nonpreachy tone used when discussing saving elephants from extinction. The text covers elephant territory, anatomy, behaviors, and more, ending with comparisons between sleep for elephants and sleep for humans—a perfect ending for a well-executed book.
A must-have for anyone who loves elephants. (author's note) (Informational picture book. 6-10)
