The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston
'Throw your heart out in front of you and run to catch it.' That's what the boy's grandmother always said. When a baby elephant is left orphaned on the African savannah, Bat, a young herdsboy, takes her home and cares for her. But Bat's grandmother knows that Meya cannot stay with them for ever - the call of the wild will always be sounding in her soul. And there are rumours borne on the wind; frightening stories of kidnapping and suffering and war. Bat and his closest friend, Muka, are catapulted into a new life of unimaginable terror. Now memories of their village world feel so far away. Will the bond between elephant and child remain strong enough to save them? It is a thrilling new novel which tells a heartbreakingly life-like tale. "I cannot trumpet this book loudly enough.scary, funny, romantic, heart-warming; an elephant book you won't forget." (Michael Morpurgo).