The Girl Who Stole an Elephant

Reader’s Review

A new adventure book set in a the lush forests of an imaginary kingdom with lots of drama; reads almost like a fantasy novel.  The book has a lot of adventure from the very first page, and contains beautiful descriptions of the jungles and its nature. Although there are some good themes of friendship and standing up to injustice, it is unfortunate that the author chose the heroine of the book to be a girl who steals in order to help others, and is overall a very flawed character. The story of three children who escape the King’s prison, steal his elephant and survive in the wild and then eventually join a group of bandits that help overtake the government is hard to believe but may appeal to middle school readers.

To look out for

• Islamic Values: The main character Chaya is presented as a modern Robin Hood. She steals regularly from the rich to help her poor villagers. Although she is chided for doing so, and gets into a lot of physical danger, she ends up the hero of the book, and the stealing is not condemned. She helps a friend break out from prison, and they run off into the jungle without informing their parents. The main character is arrogant and judgmental and often unfriendly.
• Violence: There is a lot of violence as the Chaya escapes the King’s soldiers. She is wounded on her ankle. The kids are shot at. She throws a friend down a waterfall to save her life. They almost drown. They are captured by bandits.