The White Elephant (Hardcover)

by Sid Fleischman (Author), Robert Mcguire (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Fleischman skillfully drops readers into the life of Run-Run, an orphan in old Siam who struggles to make a living as a mahout (elephant trainer) with Walking Mountain, his beloved old elephant. A cruel prince, accidentally sprayed with water by the animal, complicates Run-Run's already difficult life by giving him a gift that is really a curse–a white elephant. Somehow, Run-Run must take excellent care of Sahib, who is forbidden to work because he is sacred: Wash the hair at his ears! Brush it! Use no harsh words. Do not scold him. Treat him like an honored guest! the Prince's servant orders the elephant boy. If you value your own skin, you will be a servant to Prince Noi's gift…. Sahib surprises the boy, however, with his intelligence and bravery, and, in the end, enables Run-Run to seek out a more hopeful future. This young-reader-friendly book features ample margins and generous line spacing, short chapters, and full-page black-and-white illustrations that give visual information. Fleischman successfully immerses readers in this ancient culture, creating clever and believable plot twists that bring the story to a satisfying but open-ended conclusion. Strong writing, interesting dialogue, and clear plot development add up to another fine Fleischman novel.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
A white elephant is something no longer wanted or of value (or a gift that is a curse); it can also refer to an Asian elephant. These meanings work in tandem in this illustrated chapter book, inspired by an event in ancient Siam and told with tender realism. Young orphan Run Run toils with Walking Mountain, his beloved old elephant, clearing tree stumps for the farmers in the hillside village. When Run Run angers Prince Noi the Idle, the prince sends the boy a white elephant, Sahib, as punishment, ordering the orphan to care for it like a sacred guest and not to work it. But Sahib learns to work anyway (hidden in a coating of mud), and he eventually helps Run Run find the strength to break free of the prince and seek his destiny. McGuire's beautiful full-page pencil illustrations, one for each chapter, capture the child's nurturing of the elephants. The trickster story is fun, and kids will enjoy talking about the title's meaning. Most moving is the boy-animal bond, depicted without anthropomorphism; Run Run sleeps safely curled up with the huge creatures he loves. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061131369
• ISBN-13: 978-0061131363
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #394,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A boy and his elephant(s), October 17, 2006

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The English language is chock full of funny terms and phrases. Raise the roof. Give me a hand. A fair weather friend. Yet few phrases, however creative, tend to lead to their very own children's books. Leave it to Sid Fleischman then to change all of that with a wave of his hand. Unless you are directly involved in a white elephant gift exchange, you've probably had very little reason to ponder where the term even came from. With "The White Elephant", however, they'll learn what the term means, where it came from, and the book has the added bonus of containing the ultimate in luxury pets.

Run-Run, resident of Siam and owner of the clever elephant Walking Mountain, has a pretty good life. Get up. Use Walking Elephant to clear away tree stumps or wet down dusty roads. Eat. Relax. Go back to bed. It's a simple life and it suits Run-Run just fine, though he sometimes wonders about what the world outside his tiny sphere must look like. Soon there's little time to ponder such mysteries, however. As fate would have it, one day Walking Mountain accidentally douses Prince Noi, perhaps the idlest of the king's princes, with a heavy flood of river water. As punishment, Noi sends Run-Run a gift that is also a curse. The boy is now sole owner of a beautiful and sacred white elephant. White elephants cannot be used for labor, of course, and their appetites are immense. Now Run-Run must balance the desires of an elephant who just wants to be useful against those of a prince.

I'm always pleased as punch to find a new early chapter children's book. They don't exactly have the publishing stats of fantasy novels, yet they're of great importance to young readers. And Sid Fleischman has always been God's gift to reluctant or early readers. I haven't any statistics to prove this, but I suspect that his "The Whipping Boy" is the number one best read Newbery due in large part to the word "Boy" in the title and its enormously rewarding length (or lack thereof). So it should come as little surprise at this point to find Fleischman bestowing yet another well-written title on our shelves. Part of what I loved about this book was the fact that the elephants acted like elephants. They don't go putting on clothes like Babar and start discussing the weather. No sir! Fleischman even avoids that most tempting of children's literary techniques, the dream sequence. No easy outs for this fellow. Therefore, by the end of the book your kids will be able to discuss what elephants like to eat, why caring for their feet is important, and the sometimes deadly use of their tusks.

I've often said that it is far more difficult for an author to pen well-written early chapter fare than complex 400+ paged tomes. If brevity is a skill then Fleischman has it in spades. Not only do you understand each character's personality, but the author even goes so far as to illustrate Run-Run's dreams of seeing more than his own private corner of the world. More impressive still is a small section of the book wherein Run-Run has a private conversation with himself on whether or not to return the white elephant. Each sentence in the book gets its own line. "A white elephant must be obeyed. Mustn't the prince, also, be obeyed? True. And he will be furious. But isn't the prince always furious? Wipe your nose. I am. Well? I am thinking". I don't know about you, but I have definitely had interior monologues that proceeded at a pace very similar to the dialogue found here.

Oh just buy the book already. What more can I say? It's smart and fun (let's not forget the importance of fun in children's books, okay?) and written beautifully. If more books of this stripe come out, elephants may soon become this season's penguins (if you know what I mean). A must-have for any early chapter collection you know of.