pestyside's Full Review: Sid Fleischman - The White Elephant
“There, in old Siam, do you see the boy with dirty ears sitting as proud as a prince on the tall old elephant? Oh, how those two love each other! The boy, whose name is Run-Run, sometimes sleeps between the elephant’s front legs, safe from the world.” The two share a bond that is tighter than that of a boy and his dog. Their relationship was formed through generations. But, as the story opens, their relationships was about to change and mischief was on the horizon.
Run-Run, a young mahout, and Walking Mountain, a wise old elephant, enjoy a simple life together. The two find sufficient work that provides food and bedding each day. Run-Run, an orphan, was the third in a family of mahouts, elephant handlers, to work with Walking Mountain. There is little time in their day to relax but fortunately for Run-Run, he enjoys what they do. A miscalculation while the two were watering down a dusty road put the two at risk. They accidentally watered Prince Noi the Idle.
Sid Fleischman developed this well-told chapter book, The White Elephant, around the phrase “white elephant.” White elephant gift exchanges imply unwanted gifts, objects without value, or in this case a sacred white elephant. Prince Noi cursed Run-Run with the gift of a white elephant, an elephant not allowed to work. Run-Run however, turns an unfortunate mishap to his advantage.
He converts the curse into a blessing. He discovers his love for one can expand to include two.
Their simple existence ended the day Sahib, the white elephant, was given to Run-Run. He realized that he was not allowed to punish Sahib, or yell at him. He had to brush and feed him as a pet more pampered than any dog I know. He wondered what this elephant boy was to do with such a worthless animal. If Run-Run was caught working the elephant the prince would punish him. Yet, Run-Run could not support Sahib and his beloved Walking Mountain. Sahib was certainly a white elephant gift.
Run-Run hoped Sahib would chose to run away and back to the prince. Sahib had no interest in returning but preferred to remain with Run-Run and work like Walking Mountain. Run-Run discovered Sahib enjoyed plowing up tree stumps. “How eager you are to try out your tusks! Have your days been so boring in the prince’s stable, eh? Nothing to do but to stand and be brushed and admired like a peacock in a cage?” Sahib surprises Run-Run with intelligence and personality.
Still, Run-Run knew this elephant created risks for him with these forbidden activities, even if they were what Sahib wanted to do. It wasn’t until a tiger jumped on the back of Sahib that a solution to his dilemma formed. Although sacred, Sahib was not as full of himself as a first impression indicated.
The inspiration for this clever trickster story was an event that occurred centuries ago in Siam, before it was Thailand. In the author’s notes we discover that a king angered by an adviser punished him similarly with the gift of a white elephant. “Regarded as sacred, the royal beast was not allowed to work. Nevertheless, the white elephant must be fed its hundreds of pounds of fruit and fodder a day and otherwise cared for.” This became the origin for the terms “white elephant” gift exchanges and sales. The gift of an unwanted burden was the gift of the white elephant.
Sid Fleischman’s book, The White Elephant, tells a tale that could have been written hundreds of years ago in Siam. Run-Run lives a life on his own, succeeding on his skills and wit, by taking care of elephants. He came from a family of “Brave mahouts. They commanded elephants many times their size. Mahouts had been Run-Run’s tutors. Now only half grown, he, too, was a mahout, with his father’s colored headdress packed away under his grandfather’s porcelain amulet.” His life was not easy, but it was satisfying. I couldn’t help but feel affection for Walking Mountain and for Sahib and I suspect most young readers with pets will share similar responses.
This is a chapter book written for second and third grade readers. The format invites young readers of all skills. Full-page black and white illustrations accompany each short chapter. Fleischman’s writing style created a periodic time with a formal manner of speaking. While somewhat stilted, he skillfully uses language to help move the reader into the world of Run-Run. Some readers may initially have difficulty with the flow of the story, but after the first 20 pages Run-Run’s charm, wit, and two elephants will overcome the periodic influence. The language difference becomes an invisible part of the story’s background.
I suspect by the time most early readers finish this 93-page chapter book, they will either be asking for more information on elephants, or they will be trying to figure out how to sneak one home from the zoo.
Not all white elephants are unwanted, and perhaps not all gifts should be returned. Young readers will enjoy Sid Fleischman’s book, The White Elephant, and Run-Run’s creative approach to the curse. Any reader with a close relationship to another animal will understand and cheer Run-Run’s solution.
The White Elephant was provided as a review copy, however, the thoughts expressed are unbiased by the gift but grateful for the opportunity.
The master of the comic novel dazzles with this page-turner about Run Run, the elephant boy, and his encounter with Sahib, the bravest, smartest, most...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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