Customer Reviews

Seeing the Elephant: A Story of the Civil War

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I recently read Seeing The Elephant to my third grade class. The children loved the illustrations of life and clothing during the 1860's. The pictures of early Washington were also of high interest. The story of Izzie and his brothers during the Civil War captivated their attention. Like Izzie, my class realized that how one first perceives an enemy can change. This book was an excellent introduction for children to that period of time in our history.

Hughes, Pat. Seeing the Elephant: A Story Of The Civil War. Pictures by Ken Stark. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2007.

A thoughtful story about a ten year old boy named Iz whose two older brothers go off to fight on the Yankee side during the Civil War; one brother Cal is raring to fight, "I'm off to see the elephant" ("Seeing the Elephant" is a euphuism for "going into battle for the first time") but gets typhoid and has to come home before fighting a battle. Iz has no doubts that the Yankees have to fight to bring the Rebels back to the Union. His Aunt Bell is a nurse and she takes Iz back with her to Washington, DC. There he meets President Lincoln at a reception; however, he also meets a rebel soldier who is in a hospital and learns that fighting a war is not just a simple issue of right and wrong. Realistic paintings full of expression and historical setting enhance the quiet strength of this story