Skip to main content

ENCHANTED STORIES: The Elephant's Girl

Image
By
The Elephant's Girl
By Celesta Rimington
New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2020. Fiction.

Lexington Willow has lived in the Lexington Zoo since she was found there as a little girl after a tornado tore through the town. With the help of a "misplaced spirit" (ghost), a zoo employee named Roger found Lex safely in the protection of an African elephant named Nyah but with no clues about her identity. Now, seven years later, Lex lives with Roger inside the Lexington Zoo where she fills her day visiting Nyah and the other elephants, exploring the zoo with her best friend and fellow zoo resident Fisher, and communicating with the wind - which has spoken to her since she was found as a child. As she begins to wonder more about where she came from, she seeks help from the wind, her communications with Nyah, and the cryptic advice of the misplaced spirit Miss Amanda; and in the process, she uncovers a secret much bigger than she could have imagined.

This novel is a perfectly poignant balance of magical realism and fantasy with a healthy dose of elephant information - including extended backmatter about elephants in North American zoos. A good read for fans of The One and Only Ivan or Because of Winn-Dixie, this found family story makes use of a compelling mystery to propel readers to a satisfying, if bittersweet, ending. And, if you need any more incentive to add this book to your "to-read" pile, this novel is Utah author Celesta Rimington's debut.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Teacher of Nomad Land

By
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story By Daniel Nayeri Montclair, NJ: Levine Querido, 2025. Historical fiction. 181 pgs. In 1941 Iran, 13-year-old Babak will do anything to stay with his younger sister Sana, who is 8. After their father is killed during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, the siblings are left orphaned and Babak takes over guardianship to prevent the two from being separated. Carrying his father's blackboard on his back, Babak and Sana set off from Isfahan to find the nomadic tribes as they make their yearly trek across the mountains. Along the way, they encounter a suspicious man named Vulf, a friendly Englishman with a name that means cabbage, and a Jewish boy named Ben who has Vulf hot on his heels. As he is known for doing, Daniel Nayeri weaves a highly readable adventure with threads of philosophy about God, the ties of family, and musings about how cultures can reconcile across differences. The setting of this novel is ingeniously unique, and a lengt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dog Man Read Alikes

By
Dog Man  is a popular graphic novel for middle graders all about the adventures of a half-man, half-dog police officer. With 14 books in the series, many readers can't get enough of these hilarious stories! If your child is looking for more books like Dog Man, here are some great options to try out.  Dex Dingo: World's Best Greatest Ever... Inventor By Greg Foley Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2024. Comic. 157 pages.  Dex Dingo doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. His classmates all seem to know, but he just doesn't feel like he is the BEST at anything. When a class assignment challenges him to figure out what he wants to be, he decides he wants to become the world's best ever inventor! Filled with beautifully drawn spreads and kid-approved humor, this book is sure to please any Dog Man fan.  Troubling Tonsils Written by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 71 pages.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more