One Amazing Elephant
Page 15
“Thank you,” Lily says to my baby and me. “You sure did save me, too.”
Oh, I know: This much is true. Because, you see, we elephants know more than most people believe.
Author’s Note
I have always had a fascination and love for elephants, and knew that one day I’d write a book about an elephant. That day came when I heard Queenie Grace’s voice in my mind, saying, Bill the Giant has died and I cry. Elephants do cry.
Queenie Grace came alive, and then Lily and the others followed. In researching the book, I found that many elephants live sad existences in captivity. I wanted to write about one who was loved … and then set free.
The first elephant brought to America traveled on a ship from India to New York in December 1796. Almost one hundred years later, an elephant named John L. Sullivan—“Old John”—performed a boxing act with his trainer, wearing a boxing glove on the end of his trunk. When he retired, Old John stayed on with the circus, babysitting the performers’ children and leading the elephant herd to and from the show grounds and the trains.
There have been several famous circus elephants in America, including Jumbo, who was known as the biggest elephant in captivity. He debuted at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Easter Sunday, 1882.
Some elephants have died in strange and sad ways. One such elephant was Topsy, an attraction at a circus in Coney Island, New York. Topsy had at least three abusive trainers, including the last one, who tried to feed her a lit cigarette.
Not all elephant handlers and trainers are abusive. Many love their elephants and treat them as part of the family. My fictional Queenie Grace was lucky enough to have a trainer she loved, Bill the Giant.
There has been a lot of controversy about whether or not elephants should work in circuses or live in captivity. It is now estimated that twelve to fifteen thousand of the world’s elephants are living in captivity.
Many circuses are now moving away from owning elephants. Feld Entertainment, parent company of Barnum & Bailey Circus and Ringling Brothers, retired their traveling elephants to Florida in 2016.
Some circuses and zoos are accused of mistreating elephants, confining them to tiny spaces and isolating them. Elephants are very social creatures in the wild, and they live in large, supportive family groups. Scientists say that elephants are the only animal to mourn their dead.
Some elephants don’t seem to enjoy being showcased in circuses and zoos. Sanctuaries are being established to care for retired and displaced elephants, with the largest in America being the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. The Elephant Sanctuary provides elephants with a natural habitat and individualized care. The habitat in which the elephants roam is not open to the public.
The Room to Roam sanctuary in this story is a fictional place, but many real ones exist throughout the world. To help elephants and to learn more, visit the websites below. Each and every elephant is One Amazing Elephant, and they all deserve to live with love and care.
www.elephantleague.org
www.elephants.com
www.elephantsanctuary.org
www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
(You can foster an orphaned baby elephant!)
www.pawsweb.org
www.elephantnaturepark.org
www.desertelephant.org
Acknowledgments
Thank you to:
PEN America and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for awarding the 2014 Working Writer Fellowship to my elephant and her tears.
My family of the heart at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Super-Agent Rosemary Stimola, for loving Queenie Grace.
Wonder-Editors Annie Berger, Rosemary Brosnan, Jessica MacLeish, and all at HarperCollins.
The Fan Brothers—Eric and Terry—for the wonderful cover art.
The Highlights Foundation and Kent Brown.
John High, for building me the Writing Barn in which much of this book was written.
Marty Crisp, whose endless friendship in both good times and bad sustains me and my writing.
Annette Haas, my dad’s angel, who made gentle caregiving an act of great love.
My family, both biological and not, and all the grandkiddos I love.
Angelina Cortez, for helping to create the bad guy with smoke and spurs (and her little sister Arianah, who cheered us on in antagonist-writing).
Harper Blaine, who came into our lives at just the right time: a godsend from above to make us smile during the most heartbreaking of days.
Zach High, for teaching me about unconditional love, determined hope, and unrelenting faith.
Connor and Justin Oatman, for making my heart grow twenty sizes larger the day I became M’Mere.
About the Author
Photo by Carla Burkhart/CB Photography
LINDA OATMAN HIGH is a writing workshop teacher and the author of numerous books for children and teens. She is a graduate of Vermont College with an MFA in writing for children and young adults. Linda is the mother of two and lives in Pennsylvania. Visit her at www.lindaoatmanhigh.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2017 by The Fan Brothers
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
Copyright
ONE AMAZING ELEPHANT. Copyright © 2017 by Linda Oatman High. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016935896
ISBN 978-0-06-245583-3
EPub Edition © January 2017 ISBN 9780062455857
17 18 19 20 21 CG/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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