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The White Elephant
Author: Sid Fleischman
Illustrator: Robert Mcguire
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (October 17, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0061131369
Wouldn't it be great to have a white elephant for a pet?
Run-Run, a young orphan boy, is returning from clearing tree stumps on the hillside with his 50-year-old elephant Walking Mountain. When the elephant sprays a trunkful of river water and splashes one of the king's many sons, the one called Noi the Idle, the prince is enraged. The boy's punishment? The gift of a white elephant named Sahib. But how could that be punishment, you ask? According to tradition, white elephants are so rare, they can't be used for labor, must be fed the finest foods, and treated like royalty. Run-Run is already struggling to make a living as an elephant-trainer with Walking Mountain, his beloved old elephant. Somehow, Run-Run has to find a way to take care of Sahib and treat him like an honored guest. He wishes he could make Sahib disappear, but Run-Run comes to love the spoiled Sahib. Sahib learns to work and doesn't mind getting his tusks dirty. Eventually, Sahib helps Run Run find the strength to break free of the prince and seek his destiny.
What's great about this book is that not only is it an entertaining read, but when you're finished, you'll know a lot more about elephants than you did before picking it up.
