This simple tale of the life of a herd of elephants, as told from the point-of-view of their newest arrival, teaches readers what it might be like to be one. The many trunks of the herd members stroke the new baby to welcome her—they will all protect her if danger threatens. Soon Elephant is playing with the other youngsters and learning how to use her trunk. Time passes, and her mother has another baby to watch over. The herd is hungry, as there has been no rain, so they trample a fence around a green field and eat hungrily. But when the farmer comes to frighten them away, it is Elephant who goes back for her sibling and leads it to safety. Stojic limns her subjects with a mystical quality that makes them seem human-like in their actions. Lushly painted illustrations put readers at Elephant’s eye-level, broadly daubed paints giving the elephants both mass and texture. A good introduction to both elephants and empathy. (author’s note) (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-6)
