I recently had the chance to sit down with The Elephant Wish, a fantastic first book by the head writer for Sesame Street, Lou Berger. I had chosen the book from the "new books" shelves in the curriculum lab after I recognized the cover art by my new favorite illustrator Ana Juan. If you haven't checked out her website, then you are in for a Pan's Labyrinth-style treat! This Spanish artist did the illustrations for another favorite book (one that I now own), The Jewel Box Ballerinas.
Though I was sure that I would love the art, I was not at all expecting such a terrific story. Berger's main character, a little girl named Eliza, makes a birthday wish to be carried off by elephants. Not long after an elephant (wearing a floppy black hat) comes along to do just that. Eliza's parents dream of her marching with elephants, but are caught up in their own lives. It is only Eliza's elderly neighbor that understands what happened because the same thing had happened to her when she was a little girl.
Now I'm going to go out on a limb here, but it felt to me like the girl in the story was imagining what it would be like if she wasn't in the world with her parents--if she had died. I searched online for links about "elephants" and "death" and found nada. So perhaps it was just me. Still, I had this image reinforced when the elderly woman took her place riding the elephant, sending Eliza back to her parent's world.
I would be really curious to know your interpretations. Did you get the same eerie sense? Something else?
O man! I read this book and loved it!
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