The Boy and the Elephant

From an award-winning illustrator comes a tender, magical, and gorgeously rendered wordless picture book about a boy who saves the trees in the lot next door from being cut down.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the city is an overgrown piece of land where trees and wildlife thrive. A boy, who lives in a house on the lot next to it, loves to visit. He has a friend there: an elephant, an animal that he sees within the shapes of the trees. No matter the weather, the boy visits. And as the seasons change so does the elephant; thick green foliage changes to autumnal colors before the bare branches of harsh winter appear. But one day, builders arrive. The land has been sold, and the trees have been marked for removal. The boy can’t lose his elephant, and so he comes up with a plan.

Unbearably beautiful and moving, and with a touch of magical realism, here is a wordless picture book about conservation and children’s ability to be powerful agents of change.

Freya Blackwood fell in love with illustrating books as a child while growing up in New South Wales, Australia. She is the illustrator of many acclaimed picture books published throughout the world, including My Two Blankets, Baby Day, and Harry and Hopper for which she won the Kate Greenaway Medal. She lives in New South Wales with her daughter.