How to Be an Elephant

Description

The savanna is not an easy place to live, even for African elephants, the largest land animals on the planet. If it is a challenge for these 7,000-pound giants, what’s it like for their newborn babies?

An infant elephant has precious little time to be told the fantastic array of skills that are necessary to keep up, from projecting her voice across a 10-octave range to the usage of the 100,000 muscles in her trunk to stay hydrated. But this giant-to-be has the easiest classroom–a family herd made up of her mother, sisters, cousins, and aunts. With their help and protection, she’ll discover ways to continue to exist, how to thrive, and how to be an elephant.

Award-winning writer-illustrator Katherine Roy’s How to Be an Elephant delves into the intricate family dynamics at play in a typical African herd. Drawing upon the up to date scientific research and Roy’s own expedition to Kenya, and brimming with lush watercolor illustrations and detailed diagrams, this book vividly portrays the life and development of an elephant from an uncertain newborn into a majestic adult. As informative as it is beautiful, Roy’s unique portrait of an elephant’s life will captivate young explorers and animal lovers alike.