Words: AH Benjamin; Illustrations: Adrie le Roux Bumble Books
Review: Brian Joss
Elephants Don’t Grow On Trees is a magical story with a message: that dreams can come true.
Mr Tusker loved elephants and as a young boy he dreamed of having one as a pet. But his parents always told him that “elephants don’t grow on trees”.
Whoever he asked, the pet shop owner, the circus ringmaster, the safari park manager, the answer was the same: “Elephants Don’t Grow On Trees”. Even the Maharaj of India sent him a big postcard saying that elephants don’t grow on trees. Finally, Mr Tusker decided to visit Africa but he discovered that it wasn’t easy to catch an elephant with a butterfly net or tempt one with peanut butter. But he did find a strange-looking tree and brought it home to plant. You’re not going to grow elephants, are you?, the neighbours jeered.
Ms Read, the local librarian who was also a witch was trying out her new broomstick and crashed into the tree, spilling all her magic potions.
Suddenly the neighbourhood was alive with the trumpeting of elephants. An entertaining read. The royalties from the sales of the book will be donated to the Thula Thula Conservation Trust for their work in elephant conservation.
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