In this, Jenni Desmond’s third nonfiction children’s book about one of the large, endangered animals of Earth, we join a young boy as he learns about The Elephant . From Africa to Asia, the elephant makes its home. Light on their feet, despite their great weight, these magnificent creatures appear light and graceful because they’re always walking on their tip-toes. They have excellent hearing and can detect the rumblings of other elephants from six miles away. And, just like humans being right handed or left handed, elephants can be right tusked or left tusked! The recipient of the 2016 New York Times Best Illustrated award for her book The Polar Bear , Desmond creates illustrations that are scientifically accurate, strikingly detailed, and beautifully rendered in collage, paint, and colored pencil. K-Gr 3-Text and striking watercolor drawings combine to use both fact and fantasy to convey information about a beloved and endangered animal. The nicely rounded story begins with a crown-wearing boy, lying on a rug in a cozy, elephant-themed room, reading this very book. On three subsequent spreads a map shows where elephants can be found, labeled images compare African and Asian elephants, and a pile of cars creates a striking visualization of their potential size. In the final image, the young child has fallen asleep, still on the rug. Facts about family bonds, physical characteristics, behavior, food and feeding, nurturing, and typical activities are relayed in a smoothly written text of short paragraphs. Comparisons familiar to children abound. Threats to elephants are described in an opening author's note. Desmond thanks expert advisers, but provides no suggestions for further learning. The boy's stuffed animals call to mind previous titles in the author-illustrator's series about iconic endangered animals, The Blue Whale and The Polar Bear. VERDICT This appealing and informative introduction to elephants would make a lovely addition to animal collections.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. A 2018 EUREKA! Honor Award Winner A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018 A The Children's Book Review Best Non-Fiction Picture Book of 2018 A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Gift Guide Selection of 2018 A CBC "Hot Off The Press" Selection of October 2018 A Capitol Choices Book of 2019 Selected for the 2019 Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices List ★ "Desmond's illustrations are show-stoppers ... A memorable introduction to a living wonder." -- Booklist ★ "There are quite a few children's books about these magnificent, endangered mammals, and this one is among the best. The accessible text is supplemented by art that drives home such points as the differences between Asian and African elephants and the way an elephant foot's anatomy resembles a woman's (dark-skinned) leg in high heels. Perhaps the best example is the illustration highlighting the amazing reality of an older male bull's 100-pound, 8-foot-long tusk: The book's protagonist and a friend stretch out, foot-to-foot, along the tusk of a benign-appearing elephant, as the text states that the tusk is "the same length as two seven-year-old children toe to toe." And what fun seeing the boy atop the formidable pyramid of fruit that represents a bull elephant's diet of 700 pounds of plant matter a day! The protagonist is dark-skinned, as is his friend, and the appearance of only one white human face is refreshing, as is the matter-of-fact, nonpreachy tone used when discussing saving elephants from extinction. The text covers elephant territory, anatomy, behaviors, and more, ending with comparisons between sleep for elephants and sleep for humans--a perfect ending for a well-executed book. A must-have for anyone who loves elephants."--STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews ★ "An affectionate and informative celebration of two magnificent species."--STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly ★ "The mixed-media illustrations are both informative and beautifully executed, with varied motifs and an overall design that imparts complicated facts through clear and clean layouts. An introductory note describing modern threats to elephants sets the stage for learning to begin." --STARRED REVIEW, Betty Carter, The Horn Book "A powerful and thoughtful story, [The Elephant] will undoubtedly prove to be an enlightening read. [Jenni Desmond] does it again! Her delicate, highly detailed illustrations are coupled with incredulous facts about these gracious animals." --Sarah Yewman, Picture Books Blogger "Everything you could ever hope to know about elephants pours forth between playful illustrations of both discovery and facts." --Jessica Sweedler DeHart, The Wandering Bookseller "Throughout 'The Elephant', Desmond creates illustrations that are scientifically accurate, strikingly detailed, and beautifu