Elephants Never Forget [Hardcover]

Anushka Ravishankar (Author), Christiane Pieper (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

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?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

“It was quiet in the jungle / When a sudden storm came. / Craack! Flash! Boom! / There was thunder, lightening, rain!” The storm separates a young elephant from his herd, and the terrified calf is welcomed by a herd of water buffalo. After bonding with the buffalo, he crosses paths with other elephants, whose beckoning calls place him in a difficult position. From the irrelevant title (the book has little to do with forgetting) to the calf’s all-or-nothing decision to reject the elephants, there is much in this spare story that will leave young children perplexed and even troubled. Still, the chanting, onomatopoeic verse by children’s poet Ravishankar will energize storytimes, where listeners will likewise appreciate the lively design (key sounds, such as trumpeting “TOOOTs,” often fill an entire spread). There’s also a lot to love about Pieper’s striking, digitally created artwork, in a limited palette in black, periwinkle, and cream, which suggests influences of both Asian brush-painting and picture-book classics. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Jennifer Mattson --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

"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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (March 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618997849
• ISBN-13: 978-0618997848
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,105,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Nature or nurture in simple rhyming verse., September 7, 2011

By 

utbtkids "utbtkids" (San Jose) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elephants Never Forget (Hardcover)

The story is simple. An elephant calf gets separated from its mother after a storm and is adopted by a heard of buffaloes. He grows up as a member of the buffalo herd. When he encounters an elephant herd few years later, will he choose to go with the elephants or will he remain with the buffaloes?

The simple story has been made interesting by the typical Anushaka Ravishankar's style of story telling.

"He needed some water
To wash himself clean.
The buffaloes looked so calm, so serene.
The water was lovely, cool and green."

What endeared this book to me was not just the rhyming verse. To me the elephant growing up with animals totally different from him, forming his identity and in the end deciding his zone of comfort was very similar to immigrant children forming identity.