Olive lives with her father and grandfather ... and a large grey elephant that follows her father wherever he goes. All Olive wants is for the elephant to go away, especially when she is asked to bring something old into school to share with the class. She is desperate to bring in her bike, the bike that belonged to her late mother, a bike that is broken and needs her dad to fix it. Olive decides that it's up to her, with the help of her maternal grandad, to chase the elephant away and hopefully get her bike fixed in time.
The idea of grey animals following people around is clever and one that I fell children of all ages will be able to understand. Olive is the only one who can see the creatures and she seems to understand how they effect her father (and her grandad). With the help of her best friend, Arthur, and her grandad, she works out to help those around her.
This is a simply wonderful book that deals with the issue of mental health, grief and depression so skilfully. A beautiful story in its own right, it will also be perfect for those children who need to understand that grief can effect people in different ways.
The Elephant could be used in so many ways: as a book for children to read on their own; as a book for a parent to read to/with a child and also as a book to use in school. In whichever way it's read, it will provide a great way to open up discussion about a subject that many can find difficult to discuss and explain.
Publishing 28th January 2021
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