The Great Elephant: A Review

The Great Elephant is an allegory for children by Nik Ranieri. It's has all the makings of a great story: the plot moves along nicely (without being too dragged out); the illustrations are excellent; and the message is clear without taking away from the story.

We have it in the church library, and I grabbed it on Wednesday to read to the little ones in the home school room (it's still book month, and so after they do some "silent" reading, I love reading to them). I had it in my hand when I switched to the big kids' room, and a couple of them asked me to read it to them. After silent reading time, I obliged, and soon the whole group had gathered in our corner for story time.

The story is pretty straight forward: Quinn, a small mouse, is ready to make his own way in the world, but when he sets out, things go very wrong. He decides to look for the Great Elephant (his dad had told Quinn stories about the Great Elephant when he was a child). Along the way, Quinn runs into a host of characters who are determined to steer him astray (while pretending to help). In the end, the Great Elephant comes along and saves Quinn from the jaws of death and gives him a new home.

Quinn seems like everyone who has ever set out into the world with a determination to do things his way and to be independent. His attitude and problems are realistic, as is his response when the meets the various characters and then the Great Elephant. The other characters are well developed and it's easy to see them in the real world as they try to lead people astray from the truth. They ring true to anyone who has dealt with legalism, worldly wisdom, or any other false gospels.

The home school room children loved the story, even the ones who had heard it before. They could sense Quinn's fear and despair, and they rejoiced when he was rescued. They laughed at the bits of humour and tensed at the scary bits. It's just a really, really enjoyable story, and is great for reading aloud.

One of my favourite things about the book is that although it was written for children, the author never dumbs down the language. So many books for children seem to keep to very simple words, but Ranieri uses longer words where they are needed, and the kids had no trouble keeping up. I love when books use good words and building a child's vocabulary rather than limiting it.

The illustrations are amazing, which is no surprise since it seems that Nik Ranieri is (or was?) a Disney animator. The kids loved them (their favourite was when the Great Elephant comes and the false teachers are trying to run away in terror).

In all, it's a great story, and I highly recommend it.