The Great American Elephant Chase [Hardcover]

Gillian Cross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993 | Age Level: 9 and up

In 1881, fifteen-year-old Tad, an orphan, helps a girl attempting to get a mighty Indian elephant to friends in Nebraska, all the while pursued by two unscrupulous villains who claim that the elephant is theirs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A lucky blunder frees orphaned Tad from his dreary routine in a grim mining town and allows him to begin a new life on the road, caring for the elephant Khush. When Tad's new boss, goodhearted con man Michael Keenan, is killed in a freak accident, a pair of greedy villains from Tad's hometown are determined to lay claim to the valuable pachyderm. Spurred on equally by his love for Khush and the demands of Keenan's imperious daughter, Cissie, Tad resolves to keep his charge out of the clutches of his old enemies. Together, Tad, Cissie and Khush travel from Pennsylvania to the plains of Nebraska in search of a safe haven. The chase is thrilling, the landscape brilliant and sprawling, the characters thoughtfully drawn; these elements alone provide uncommonly thrilling reading. But this novel offers more than mere adventure; along with rescuing the great elephant, Tad saves something just as important--his sense of self. Thanks to Cross's piercing insight and subtle writing, her novel's message never becomes obvious; but rather is skillfully interwoven throughout this multi-layered work--a truthful exploration of emotional growth and change. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Part showboat melodrama, part Dickensian squalor, part Barnum hype, and all adventure, this story works. Using the U. S. map as her stage, Cross sends her hero, Tad, on a headlong journey of discovery across a literary landscape scattered with rivers and towns, actual and invented. Children running away with an elephant and trying to hide it from pursuers is an appealing plot device, and not unique. Vivian Alcock used it well in Travelers by Night (Dell, 1990); Tom Tryon, less successfully in The Adventures of Opal and Cupid (Viking, 1992). Khush, the elephant in this chase, is a strong personality, as well defined as Tad, the orphan boy, and Cissie, the con man's headstrong daughter. When Cissie's father is killed in a train wreck, the three join forces in order to to keep Khush from the oily clutches of Mr. Jackson and Esther, villains from Tad's bleak past. The chase, through farming country, down and up rivers by barge, flatboat, and steamer, and across the open prairie, keeps the trio just ahead of the villains as they rush toward Cissie's friend in Nebraska. The parallel journey of Tad's self-discovery, from brow-beaten nonentity in his aunt's stifling boarding house to confident leader across the open Nebraska plains, is neatly developed but never intrudes upon the action. Cross has a long list of good titles behind her, but this may be her first to make the trans-Atlantic voyage so successfully. There is no trace of British sensibility, place, or language. A fine story with universal appeal. --Sally Margolis, Deerfield Public Library, IL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 193 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823410161
• ISBN-13: 978-0823410163
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and fun chase across, October 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great American Elephant Chase (Hardcover)

My family read this aloud and the kids (8-11 yrs) loved it. Certainly it is hard to believe that the two young protagonists could have pulled off their journey with the elephant, but isn't that half the fun? The adults trying to obtain the elephant are necessarily evil and the kids both have pluck and luck. A sleeper belonging on every child's bookshelf. Older readers who enjoy the elephant aspect may want to read "Tusk and Stone" by Malcolm Bosse.

5.0 out of 5 stars The writing is excellent. Age 12 to adult., April 16, 2000

By 

W. Hepburn "elefuntz" (Sarasota, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great American Elephant Chase (Hardcover)

This charming novel, set around 1900, tells about a boy of 15 years who unintentionally escapes from a miserable existence and ends up in the company of a girl and an elephant being chased across America by a proper villain. I won't tell you how it ends.

The writing is excellent. It is readable by children age 12 up and adults who enjoy youthful adventure stories.

4.0 out of 5 stars Elephant Chase Charming Adventure, January 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great American Elephant Chase (Hardcover)

The Great American Elephant Chase

This charming novel, set around 1900, tells about a boy of 15 years who unintentioanlly escapes from a miserable existence and ends up in the company of a girl and an elephant being chased across America by a proper villan. I won't tell you how it ends.

The wriing is excellent. It is readable by children age 12 up and adults who enjoy youthful adventure stories. I enjoyed it immensely