I adored The One and Only Ivan so I had high hopes that just like Ivan’s tale, Ruby’s story would steal my heart, and Katherine Applegate didn’t disappoint with another sparkling, intelligent and beautifully written read.
Ruby the elephant has had an eventful life; born in Africa, raised in an orphanage, stolen by hunters, taken away to a roadside circus and sold to a mall. Now she spends her days in the safety of Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary where her aunts teach her the elephant ways and she gets to hangout with her best friends Bob and Ivan.
Excitement is building amongst the elephants as Ruby’s tuskday approaches. Everyone is looking forward to the special occasion, everyone except Ruby who wants to run away. When the kind boy who raised her appears Ruby’s memories of her past come rushing back; moments of happiness and sadness explode inside her. She needs to share her story but it can be hard to talk about the past. Ruby has good friends and a supportive herd, and with that, anything is possible…
The elephant is slap bang in the middle of the room here with the exceptionally brave and adorable little Ruby taking centre stage in this gentle, emotion-filled and perfectly written story. Told in the first person, in accessible verse and featuring gorgeous black and white artwork, Ruby’s story will break hearts before gently piecing them back together again as she unpicks the highs and lows of life, learning about friendship, family and what it means to be part of the herd. Stories written in verse offer a unique reading experience and are a great way into longer reads for children, especially reluctant readers, who are daunted by the prospect of lengthy chapter books. Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only series are some of the most impressive verse novels, exemplifying the power that just a few carefully chosen words can have.
Timely, important and full of wisdom, readers will ride an emotional rollercoaster as they are challenged to question the treatment of elephants around the world. Ruby’s heartfelt, and sadly all too real, reminiscence of her life is ele-phan-tastic reading. Narrating with brutal honesty and a cutting rawness, the big-hearted-little-elephant doesn’t shy away from harsh and upsetting realities. Her words teach us much about these marvellous animals, and the additional pages devoted to elephant body language (complete with wonderfully playful illustrations) and an elephant glossary provide some fascinating facts that children will love learning and sharing with their herd.
Taking inspiration from the incredible work of The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - one of Africa’s longest-running wildlife charities - and some of their many heartbreaking and hopeful stories, Ruby’s tale will inspire each and everyone one of us to do what we can to help protect these intelligent, magnificent, playful and social animals. Elephants are not irrelpehant and it is up to us to peacefully co-exist with them and to afford them the freedom that they deserve.
Through Ruby’s voice and Katherine’s author’s note, the plight of elephants is clear. Too many suffer, living a sad and often lonely existence in the care of cruel taskmasters who see nothing wrong with treating these animals as nothing more than performers and a means to making money. Hunted, stripped of their tusks, a diminishing supply of natural resources and a lack of funding to create sanctuaries to offer protected and safe spaces for elephants to live their best possible lives, elephants livelihoods are under immense threat. But if we all do what we can then, just like Ruby’s story, there is hope. Being aware of issues, acting as responsible tourists and not funding roadside shows and circuses, and definitely not purchasing ivory products can all help. And who wouldn’t want to help an animal whose favourite pastime is ‘floppy-running.’
Like Ruby and her aunts, all we can do is hope. We would be well-served to ask ourselves the same two questions that Ruby and her herd do at the end of each day; What gifts did the world give you today? What gifts did you give to the world? Applegate is a superb author and this is a must-have collection of books for lower key stage two classrooms. Animal-lovers, eco-warriors and conservationists will adore these reads and will be grunting, barking and trumpeting loudly about the need to protect and respect the animals that we share the planet with. For teachers, Harper Collins have produced some brilliant resources to support discussions in the classroom for all three stories in the series - Ivan, Bob and Ruby. Recommended for 8+. With huge thanks to Harper Collins for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
