Modoc by Ralph Helfer

Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to […]

Hannah’s Dream by Diane Hammond

Hannah has been cared for by Samson Brown for her 41-year captivity.  But Samson is aging and his health is failing, and the zoo needs a plan. Enter Neva Wilson, an energetic young zookeeper whose creative ideas for Hannah’s well-being immediately put her afoul of Harriet Saul, the zoo’s petty, tyrannical administrator. To save Hannah’s […]

Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley

Most elephants in America live in circuses and zoos, and their lives are very different from what they would be in the wild. But there’s a very special place in Tennessee called the Elephant Sanctuary, where elephants can finally have the freedom to roam and have elephant friends.

Tarra and Bella by Carol Buckley

Best friends come in all shapes and sizes! After retiring from the circus, Tarra became the first resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. When other elephants moved in and developed close friendships, only Tarra remained independent – until the day she met a stray mixed-breed dog named Bella.

Travels with Tarra by Carol Buckley

Tarra, an Asian elephant raised in captivity, is the subject of this tender photo-essay by Tarra’s elephant-advocate owner. College student Buckley’s courses in the care of exotic animals sprang to life when a local merchant obtained an infant elephant as his store mascot. Before long, Buckley had befriended the store owner and taken over the […]

Horton Hears a Who Dr. Seuss

Surely among the most lovable of all Dr. Seuss creations, Horton the Elephant represents kindness, trustworthiness, and perseverance–all wrapped up, thank goodness, in a comical and even absurd package. Horton hears a cry for help from a speck of dust, and spends much of the book trying to protect the infinitesimal creatures who live on […]

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

Poor Horton. Dr. Seuss’s kindly elephant is persuaded to sit on an egg while its mother, the good-for-nothing bird lazy Maysie, takes a break. He waits, and waits, never leaving his precarious branch, and he is rewarded in the end by the surprise birth of… an elephant-bird. Horton Hatches the Egg contains some of Theodor […]

Elephant Dreams by Karl Cullen

Inspired by the real life experience of the author who spent four months with the two orphan elephants, Ging Mai and Hope, this is the story of how after finding each other, they head off to search for the most important thing in a young elephants life; a family.

Elephants (Amazing Animals) by Kate Riggs

This fairly new series of books explores many animals from the world in a way that even young readers will love. Every few sentences is accompanied by a full-page picture. Children learn how much the animals weigh, what they eat, where and how they live, who their predators are, and other basics. There is also […]