The World's Greatest Elephant Review
My daughter first picked this book off the library book mobile. She loves animals, so we sat down to enjoy what we assumed was to be another "nice" simple animal story! Well! We got to the end of this most beautiful story and I was in tears!!!!!!!! My kids were only in preschool when we first found that book from the library book mobile and they LOVED it and stayed with it -- it's not as short or simple as other little animal stories.
Long story short -- we returned our library copy, and I found it on Amazon, ordered it for my kids, and have read it over and over and over. . . and have since given it to their friends as birthday presents, and everyone has loved it! I also found the adult version of this compelling true story of life, love, friendship, overcoming obstacles for myself and given it to the mom of one of the friends we gave this children's version to. . .
When my kids (girl/boy twins) were in preschool, I even brought it in to read to their class. The class and their teacher loved it and copied the title to order it for the class. (When the kids were real young like that, I skipped some of the details reading to the class, for time constraints. but now they are in kindergarten and I hope to be able to bring it into their kindergarten class and read the whole thing!)
The World's Greatest Elephant Feature
- ISBN13: 9780399241901
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
The World's Greatest Elephant Overview
It’s unbelievable but true! Born on the same day in the same small, German circus town, young Bram and his elephant, Modoc, had a lifelong friendship that spanned over eight decades. But it was never easy. From the breakup of the circus to the shipwreck in the Indian Ocean that nearly cost them their lives, the bond between the boy and the elephant survived the most unimaginable trials. This true story of their adventures together, and eventual rise to circus stardom in the Ringling Brothers Circus, will be a treasure for animal lovers everywhere.
The beautiful, life-like illustrations by Ted Lewin make the perfect backdrop to this amazing chronicle by Ralph Helfer.
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Customer Reviews
Children's book: language and art - pamela - CA
After reading the adult version of the book "Modoc," which was fantastic, I ordered the children's version out of curiosity, as I do not have a child. However, my mother, 80, who can no longer read long books, greatly enjoyed the emotive aspects of the story.
As a retired education administrator whose job it was to order curriculum for our county-wide district, I have read hundreds of children's books. "The World's Greatest Elephant" is a children's book with a good vocabulary, and has a theme of overcoming difficulties in life. It is the type of story that could spawn meaningful discussions.
However, the artwork is very dreary (mostly muted reds and grays - probably a cost factor in production of the book). For instance, the picture of Modoc being rescued from the ocean simply shows an elephant in straps against a stark white background. There are never any blue skies. People's faces tend toward the "impressionistic" end of a continuum rather than a realistic, more photographic quality. Bram, shown atop Modoc's back in a circus picture, has the face of an old man and no neck. The artist's strong point was certainly not in drawing people.
It is unfortunate the Ralph Helfer couldn't have found a better artist, because the story, with good art and color, could easily have been rated a "5."
Was pleasantly surprised - Tess - in the mountains
I bought this book for my granddaughter after reading the adult version of MODOC (and loving it!). The story follows the main story leaving out many small details but one gets the impact of the boy and the elephant and the love, loyalty, and adventures. Beautiful watercolor illustrations!
A great picture book of a the World's greatest elephant - Becky L. Powell -
I was thrilled to find that the story of Modac has been written as a children's picture book. I read the book Modac to my fifth grade class and they sat enraptured. My small grandchildren listen just as intently to the picture book.When they are older, I'll read Modoc aloud to them too. There are many lessons woven in this story. The love between a boy and an elephant, courage, faith, perseverance, and keeping a promise. I promise you won't be disappointed when you choose this book.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 03, 2010 12:25:05
