Sid Fleischman,
The White Elephant
Greenwillow Books, 2006

Ages 8-12

The White Elephant tells the story of Run-Run, a young mahout (or elephant keeper) living in old Siam, and his two elephants, Walking Mountain and Sahib.

Walking Mountain, an elephant half a century old and on his last set of teeth, has been Run-Run's friend and business partner for years, presumably since the boy's mother was mauled by a tiger and died when he was barely eight.  The two of them live alone in Walking Mountain's stable and make their living by removing tree trunks from plantation land, spraying down dusty roads, and other tasks for which an elephant can be quite useful. Then one day, an errant stream of water from Walking Mountain's trunk sprays the haughty Prince Noi, who avenges this insult by giving Run-Run the "gift" of a white elephant.

The problem with having a white elephant is that it is sacred and cannot be worked, yet it must still eat 200-300 pounds of food each day!  At first, Run-Run is worried that the burden of providing for this new elephant, named Sahib ('because he was like a foreign sahib, white and proud?' Run-Run wonders), will be the ruin of him and Walking Mountain, but he soon develops affection for it and finds clever solutions to his problem. 

Together, the trio encounters adventures and excitement that will delight young readers.  Run-Run is a smart and kind protagonist who lives by his wits, stays true to his values, and displays remarkable self-sufficiency.  There is no doubt that children will be inspired by such a hero.  The elephants are also irresistible.  Sid Fleischman, Newberry Award winning author of The Whipping Boy, has given us a chapter-book full of excitement, adventure, conflict, cleverness, bravery and love.  He also manages to educate his audience about elephant care and  reveals, in a note at the end, where the expression "white elephant" comes from (the actual legend was the inspiration for this book).  The soft pencil drawings that illustrate each chapter-heading help to build suspense and set the mood.  This wonderful story is likely to be popular with both children and adults and would make an excellent read-aloud selection in a fourth- or fifth-grade classroom.  Bravo, once again, for Sid Fleischman!

Abigail Sawyer
March 2007