An author’s note at the beginning of this fascinating informational picture book states that the number of elephant species has gone from more than three hundred at one time to only two surviving today. This startling fact will likely stick with readers as they follow a brown-skinned boy wearing a red crown cracking open a picture book about elephants. The boy—and readers—learn about the differences between the two elephant species; behaviors; physical descriptions; elephant senses, such as hearing and touch; baby elephant-rearing; appetite and diet; and the importance of elephants to other animals and plants. Although the boy occasionally feels intrusive to the narrative, he is handily integrated into the beautiful illustrations to demonstrate tusk size and the way that elephants walk on their toes. The highly readable text imparts a sense of respect, awe, and admiration of an animal population in need of protection. (Ages 6–10)

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.