Saving Lilly [Paperback]

Peg Kehret (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

AGAINST All ODDS

Erin Wrenn and her friend David are in big trouble because they refuse to go on a field trip to the Glitter Tent Circus. They wrote a report on the sad lives of circus animals and discovered that the Glitter Tent Circus is one of the worst animal abusers of all. Mrs. Dawson is determined to give her students the happy circus experience she remembers from her childhood; she won't let Erin and David share their report or pass around a petition asking for a different field trip. Erin is determined to force Mrs. Dawson to change her plans...or she'll stage a sit-in at school.

Then Erin sees an even bigger problem: Lilly, a mistreated elephant, is about to be sold to a hunting park. How can she save Lilly before it's too late? It seems impossible!

Can one girl -- and a class of sixth graders -- make a difference?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Erin Wrenn learns about animal cruelty in circuses while researching for a school report. When her sixth-grade class earns a field trip in a reading competition, it turns out to be to a circus owned by a relative of the teacher. When the performers arrive, some of the kids see Lilly the elephant unloaded using painful hooks and notice other signs of mistreatment. Erin convinces most of the class to stay in school on the day of the field trip and together the classmates decide to raise money to buy Lilly in order to send her to an elephant sanctuary. The circus owner sets the purchase price at $8000, and the students start on a three-week project of raising that amount through car washes, lawn mowing, baby-sitting, etc. The plot moves quickly from event to event leading to Lilly's release. Characterization is slight, but the story does show how determined children can make a difference. Animal cruelty issues are explored naturally throughout. The main appeal of this story will be to animal lovers.

Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. While researching a project for class, sixth-grader Erin Wrenn and her best friend, David, find out that circus animals are often badly mistreated. When their homeroom teacher plans a field trip to the Glitter Tent Circus, the two refuse to go, creating an uncomfortable power struggle within the class. The children also discover that the circus manager is planning to sell Lilly the elephant to a hunting preserve, prompting them to raise funds to purchase the animal so they can send her to an elephant sanctuary. Kehret's breezy, upbeat style and the appealing subject matter make for a winning combination that is sure to please middle-grade readers. Erin and David are believable characters, and if their plans run a little more smoothly than they might in real life, Kehret can be forgiven because she's devoted to her novel a good cause. A note on animal welfare and the elephant sanctuary talked about in the story round out a book that will be popular among animal lovers as well as teachers searching for an involving classroom read-aloud. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671034235
• ISBN-13: 978-0671034238
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants > Fiction

More About the Author

I've published 45 books; all but two are for children. I wrote magazine articles, short stories, and plays for many years before I discovered that what I like best is to write books for kids.
When I was twelve, I was paralyzed with polio. I made almost a full recovery but I remember that time of my life so clearly that it's easy for me to write from the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen-year-old.
I'm always thrilled when one of my books wins a state young reader award, because I know those awards are voted on by children.
I am a widow who was married for 48 years. I have two grown children and four grandchildren. I live on a small wildlife sanctuary near Mt. Rainier National Park and I often have deer and elk in my yard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful New Children's Book, February 25, 2005

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saving Lilly (Paperback)

Sixth grader Erin Wrenn, and her best friend David never knew much about the circus, and the treatment of circus animals, until they worked together on a TAG - Talented and Gifted - Project, that let them in on the not-so-secret torture of animals. Due to this report, the two kids refuse to go on a field trip that their teacher, Mrs. Dawson, has planned. Sure, field trips are great, but one to the Glitter Tent Circus is anything but, for the Glitter Tent Circus is one of the worst circuses out there. However, Mrs. Dawson is determined to give her students something to remember, just as she remembers the times she spent at the circus when she was a child. In fact, she's so determined to make her students attend the circus, that she scolds Erin and David when they try to pass around a petition boycotting the circus field trip. Little does Mrs. Dawson know, but Erin is determined to have her voice be heard, or she'll stage a sit-in right in her classroom. Unfortunately, attending the circus isn't Erin's biggest problem. The biggest problem is Lilly, a mistreated elephant traveling with the circus, who is about to be sold to a hunting park, where she will be killed. Erin knows that it's up to her to save Lilly before it's too late. But saving an elephant is harder than she could have ever imagined.

As a PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - member, I was ecstatic to find a book that showcased two children, as well as their classmates doing something to save a circus animal, and taking a stand. Erin and David are two very brave children, who stood up to adults around them, and made them see just how cruel the circus truly is. Animal lovers will adore Peg Kehret's humane effort in getting the truth out about circuses in a fiction book, while parents and children will love the bravery of the two main characters.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Saving Lily, January 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Saving Lilly (Paperback)

Saving Lilly is a wonderful book. Peg kerhet took out of her time to write this fantastic book, Saving Lilly. At the beginning of the story, in April on a Monday Mrs. Dawson told her class hat if they read 11 book each by May 10th. They will go on a surprise field trip. Mrs. Dawson will not tell her class what the field trip will be. Now this was exciting to them because they mostly never go on field trips. Erin and David don't want to go on this field trip. To find out read the book.
If you like sad and happy books at the same time then this is the book for you. Saving Lilly was an adored and beloved story. It is like you are within the action, with Erin, David or Lilly the elephant. Now this is a MUST read book.
The author, Peg Kehet is trying to tell all of the readers that read the book Saving Lilly. If you believe in something you should stick with it and not, not do it and always tell the way you feel. Listen to the author and believe in yourself. Saving Lilly read it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alison B. from Mississippi, February 24, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Saving Lilly (Paperback)

This book rocks! I have read it 8 times, and I am still reading it. If you like animals, and you love to read, this book's for you!!! I hope you'll read it.