A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Chronicle Books 68 pages
(pub. 5.18.2021)
Author: Kim Tomsic
Illustrator: Hadley Hooper
Character: Lawrence Anthony and
Francoise Malby-Anthony
Overview: "One day in 1999, Lawrence Anthony and Françoise Malby hear that a herd of wild African elephants needs a new home. They welcome the elephants to their wildlife sanctuary—Thula Thula—with open arms. But the elephants are much less sure they want to stay. How will Lawrence prove to them that they are safe and loved? What follows is a gorgeously illustrated real-life story of a friendship . . . and the story of the miraculous way that love given freely will return—greater and more wonderful than it began." Tantalizing taste:
"The herd approaches the repaired boma fence, ready to knock it down again, but Lawrence stands in front of them.
'Nana,' Lawrence says. 'PLEASE don't go. If you leave, you, your baby, and your herd will be hurt.'
Nana curls her trunk and lifts her ears.
'Maybe you're worried about this new home and tired from the journey, ' Lawrence says.
'But if you rest, I'll take care of you. I will live with you by day and camp with you by night. I will stay with you, and you will not be alone.'"
And something more: Kim Tomsic writes in the Author's Note: "Lawrence Anthony died on March 2, 2012. For the next three years, the herd returned to the Anthony home on the exact anniversary of Lawrence's death.
The elephants continue to thrive, and there are children and grandchildren of the original seven elephants now living at Thula Thula."