The the Elephant

by Peter Carnavas

  To the entire UQP team, thanks for having me on board and for supporting your writers so well.

  Thank you to Allison Paterson, who gave me a huge boost of encouragement after reading an early draft.

  To Mum and Dad and the whole family, thanks for your love and support.

  To Bron, Sophie and Elizabeth – it might be odd having a husband and dad who daydreams about imaginary elephants and tortoises all day, but when I’m not doing that, I’m usually thinking about how lucky I am to have you. Just like Olive’s grandad, you rub out the grey parts of my day and fill them in with colour.

  And finally, to Georgie, our small grey dog with short legs and an extra-long tail, who recently grew too old for this world. You always knew when an elephant came near, and how to chase it away.

  Peter Carnavas writes and illustrates books for children and the grown-ups in their lives. His first book, Jessica’s Box, was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and the CBCA Crichton Award for Emerging Illustrators. He has since created many books, including Last Tree in the City, The Children Who Loved Books and Blue Whale Blues. He has also illustrated Damon Young’s series of humorous picture books that celebrate family diversity. He is a popular presenter in schools and his work has been translated into many languages, including Italian, Portuguese, Korean and Dutch. Peter lives on the Sunshine Coast with his wife, two daughters and a small, charming dog called Florence.

  www.petercarnavas.com

  First published 2017 by University of Queensland Press

  PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia

  www.uqp.com.au

  uqp@uqp.uq.edu.au

  © Peter Carnavas text and illustrations 2017

  This book is copyright. Except for private study, research, criticism or reviews, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

  Design by Jo Hunt

  Typeset in 13/21pt Palatino Light by Jo Hunt

  Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

  The University of Queensland Press

  is supported by the Queensland

  Government through Arts Queensland.

  The University of Queensland Press is assisted by

  the Australian Government through the Australia

  Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

  National Library of Australia

  http://catalogue.nla.gov.au

  Carnavas, Peter, 1980- author, illustrator.

  The elephant / Peter Carnavas.

  ISBN 978 0 7022 5961 6 (pbk)

  ISBN 978 0 7022 6055 1 (pdf)

  ISBN 978 0 7022 6056 8 (epub)

  ISBN 978 0 7022 6057 5 (kindle)

  For primary school age.

  Emotions – Juvenile fiction

  Fathers and daughters – Juvenile fiction.

  Picture books for children.

  University of Queensland Press uses papers that are natural,

  renewable and recyclable products made from wood grown in

  sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes

  conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.