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Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | J FICTION HAR | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Ten-year-old Tua--Thai for "peanut"--has everything she needs at home in Chiang Mai, Thailand, except for one thing she's always wanted: a sister. In the market one day, Tua makes an accidental acquaintance--one with wise, loving eyes, remarkable strength, and a very curious trunk. And when Tua meets Pohn-Pohn, it's clear this elephant needs her help. Together, the unusual team sets off on a remarkable journey to escape from Pohn-Pohn's vile captors. From the bustling night market to the hallowed halls of a Buddhist temple and finally, to the sanctuary of an elephant refuge, this clever girl and her beloved companion find that right under their noses is exactly what each has been searching for: a friend.
Author Notes
R.P. Harris has traveled the world with his wife, spending much time in Asia, including three months in Thailand, where this story was born. He is currently living in Shanghai, China.
Taeeun Yoo has illustrated numerous books for children, including the New York Times Best Illustrated Book,Only a Witch Can Fly. She lives in New York City.
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Harris's debut, inspired by a trip to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, follows nine-year-old Tua and her relationship with an abused elephant, Pohn-Pohn. Tua, whose mother is a hardworking waitress, lives an independent life in Chiang Mai, near a popular night market where she finds-and falls in love with-Pohn-Pohn. The elephant is under the charge of two thieving scoundrels and wordlessly begs Tua to help her escape. As quick-witted and adventurous as she is warmhearted, Tua undergoes hair-raising escapades to keep Pohn-Pohn out of the villains' grasp and find her a sanctuary. Engagingly filled with Thai vocabulary, food, and customs, and peopled by helpful family members, chums, and kind monks, the book maintains a quick, suspenseful pace. The final chapters wrap up the story a little too neatly, however, and border on an infomercial about the sanctuary for abused Asian elephants. Nonetheless, Harris's story, enlivened by Yoo's gently evocative woodcut illustrations in violet and mustard, avoids overt anthropomorphism of Pohn-Pohn while maintaining the sweet connection between elephant and girl. Ages 8-12. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Tua, a go-getting Thai girl, goes to great lengths to save an elephant from its abusive owners. With her community's help, she repeatedly outsmarts the buffoonish duo until she finally gets the elephant to safety in an animal sanctuary. Warm, two-color linoleum block print illustrations accompany a sweet story that incorporates many details about Thai culture. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In this modern Thai adventure story, 10-year-old Tua meets an elephant as she wanders her neighborhood night market. She conspires to rescue the animal from its abusive mahouts, but setting an elephant free is simple compared with finding a safe place to hide it: Kitchens with elephants in them are overcrowded rooms. On the advice of her aunt Orchid, Tua and Pohn-Pohn the elephant attempt to reach an elephant sanctuary and presumed safety. They encounter many adventures and new friends on their journey, always with the elephant's former owners in hot pursuit. The mahouts are drawn broadly, providing comic relief and keeping the tone light. Vivid descriptions, a heavy sprinkling of Thai words in the dialogue, and Yoo's evocative full-page art, keep the setting firmly in Thailand without feeling overtly educational or heavy-handed. Tua's generous nature and impetuous actions make her a spunky, endearing heroine. Hand this to fans of Kate DiCamillo, those looking for a glimpse of life in modern Asia, or anyone who enjoys a rollicking animal adventure story.--Harold, Suzanne Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
"A MASTER mahout becomes one with his elephant," we are told in this charming novel for middle-grade readers. "He is brother and sister, mother and father, and son and daughter to his elephant. He lives, eats and sleeps with his elephant. He feeds it from his table, and bathes with it in the river. The mahout becomes an elephant, and the elephant becomes a mahout. The two are inseparable. But just as there are all kinds of elephants, so, too, there are all kinds of mahouts." Ten-year-old Tua (Thai for "Peanut") recognizes immediately that the mahouts she sees on a city street with a lovely young elephant are no good. She follows them to their camp, waits until they drink themselves unconscious, then slips off the elephant's chain. And this is how she finds herself on the streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand, "in the company of a fugitive elephant." So begins the adventure in "Tua and the Elephant," by R. P. Harris and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. Tua's story follows one of the great traditions of children's literature by dispensing quickly with potentially pesky parents. Tua doesn't appear to have a father, and her mother, doting but overwhelmed, leaves for an evening shift at work within a couple of pages. Left to her own devices, Tua dashes off to Chiang Mai's popular Night Market, where familiar and loving people ensure Tua is well fed, entertained and parented in absentia. Harris's description of the Night Market is an early high point among many providing a glimpse into the tastes, sights and sounds of Thailand. While refereeing a dispute between a muzzled dog and a screeching cat, Tua discovers a hole in a wall leading to a more sinister world, more Gotham City than Night Market, with buildings that "lean over the sidewalk" and "farangs" (white people or foreigners) milling about. In short order, Tua is mistaken for a beggar and a pickpocket, and then witnesses a real theft, perpetrated by the mahouts. The plot unfolds quickly and involves a kitchen sink of obstacles and allies: a Chevy Chase-style scene in a vegetable market, a treacherous river crossing, delightful teenage monks, an elephantkidnapping, ransom negotiations, and high- (and low-) speed chases as the devious mahouts search for Tua and the elephant. Tua's adult partner in crime is the deliciously inimitable Auntie Orchid, an actress and singer of great renown (at least in her own head), who answers the door in a red silk robe and green cold cream, and barely bats an eyelash at the elephant her niece has stashed in her backyard. Auntie Orchid brings the elephant inside and explains that the first order of business is to endow an appropriate name: "Growing up in the country, Auntie Orchid had known elephants that were happy with their names; and she had known elephants that were not at all happy with them. The last thing Auntie Orchid wanted was an unhappy elephant in her kitchen." EVEN the bumbling mahouts are not without charm, or at least humor. Nak is rotten to his core, but the none-too-bright Nang is a bit of a softy: he keeps a medallion around his neck and kisses it because he secretly suspects the elephant trade angers the forest. He's also hopelessly star-struck by Auntie Orchid, who creates a diversion when the mahouts track Tua and the newly named Pohn-Pohn to her home. Harris touches on serious social issues (children living in dumps and mothers begging with infants), but ear tweaking and nose yanking are about as violent as it gets for the humans. The histories of the elephants at the sanctuary are horrifying, but are firmly in the past, with the elephants living happily in the present. This gentle approach makes for a wonderful and entirely ageappropriate introduction to both the plight of the Asian elephant and the good kind of mahout, set against a backdrop of pure adventure. Sara Gruen is the author of the novels "Water for Elephants" and "Ape House."
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Children will be smitten with Harris's endearing story about a tender friendship between a girl and the elephant whose life she is trying to save. Nine-year-old Tua (Peanut) lives with her mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a lively place where everyone seems to know and watch out for one another. One day at the bustling night market, she encounters an elephant being forcefully led by two sleazy con men who are masquerading as mahouts. Tua and the elephant connect and quickly forge a strong emotional bond. Determined to rescue her new friend from a horrific situation, she deftly sneaks her away from her captors. Navigating the crowded streets is no easy feat with an elephant in tow, but they eventually end up at the house of Tua's charismatic Auntie Orchid. Though sympathetic, she is unable to harbor the fugitive pachyderm and directs her niece to a Buddhist temple that has walls tall enough to hide the large animal. At the temple, Tua and the newly named Pohn-Pohn (Double-Happiness) are told that the best place for an elephant is a sanctuary run by a compassionate animal lover. Tua endeavors to get Pohn-Pohn to safety while avoiding the criminal mahouts, who have been pursuing them all along. Yoo's vibrant full-page illustrations, rendered in charcoal and linoleum-block printing, perfectly complement and elevate Harris's remarkable tale. A charming story sure to capture the hearts of young readers.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
How do you hide an elephant? Inspired by a trip to an Asian elephant refuge, Harris transports young readers to the lands of curry, banana leaves and the bustling Chiang Mai Night Market. Little 9-year-old Tua, which means "peanut" in Thai, finds a young, but very large captured elephant. Their connection is instant. But this elephant is chained, used as tourist bait. Tua must face dangers including poachers and treacherous rivers as she steals away with the young elephant, pursued by two menacing mahouts, or elephant drivers. Naming her new friend Pohn Pohn, Tua escapes with her to a Buddhist temple, where she learns of an elephant preserve in the mountains. Will Tua be successful in getting Pohn Pohn into the preserve? For a book aimed at middle graders, kudos on three fronts: providing a child's-eye view of Thailand with foreign words to be decoded in context, creating a strong connection between the elephant and the girl and using a simple vocabulary to introduce the complex issue of poaching. Yoo's multiple illustrations, done in charcoal and linoleum block prints, catapult the story even higher. Foreign yet familiar, the action is often humorous and reinforces the sweet bond between pachyderm and "peanut." A rousing adventure that introduces the issue of elephant trafficking in a gentle and appropriate way. (Fiction. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
