How To Be An Elephant by Katherine Roy

How To Be An Elephant: Growing up in the African Wild

Written and illustrated by Katherine Roy

David Macaulay Studio: An imprint of Roaring Brook Press. 2017

ISBN: 9781626721784

Grades 1 thru 12

Note: While Cathy is on Sabbatical, Louise is responsible for all the blog's content.  Cathy will return March, 2018.

“They are born wearing wrinkles. They are friendly, but also fierce. They talk in deafening rumbles, and move around on soundless feet. Their noses have fingers, and they wave hello with their ears. They are wild, majestic, unmistakably marvelous, and – in many ways – so much like us.”

Roy has crafted a beautiful tribute to elephants, specifically those who live in Africa. Every aspect of an elephant’s development, from newborn to mature adult, is explained in language understandable to the youngest readers in this colorful nonfiction picture book.

Roy’s research included traveling to central Kenya in 2014 and spending several days with elephant experts in the field and took part on a 10-day safari through parks and reserves.

The text is complemented by Roy’s watercolor illustrations and detailed diagrams.

Back matter includes a heartfelt author’s note, selected resources, scientific articles, further reading, and resources of books, films, and websites. 

Click here to visit the author's web page and see a behind-the-scenes film.

An excellent resources for all ages. 

To write this review, i borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.