Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: Follow the Elephant

Author: Beryl Young

Publisher: Ronsdale Press

Place & Year of Publication: British Columbia, 2010

Number of Pages: 243

Where I Found the Book: School library

Story Review:

It hasn’t even been a year since Ben Leeson’s dad died, and Ben tries to forget about it by playing computer games 24/7. So going on a trip to a foreign country with your grandma for 2 weeks is a great idea, right? Wrong! The last thing Ben wants to do is hang out with his grandma. But his mother thinks differently, she thinks it would be a great idea! So, off he goes. But this isn’t just some fun trip for tourism; it’s to find his grandma’s old pen pal Shanti, who she hasn’t heard from in 50 years, who lives in India.

When they arrive in Dehli, India their hopes are high. But they end up going on a “scavenger hunt” for Shanti all over (literally) India. Along the way they meet some people who become very good friends. Like Padam and Madhu, their cab drivers. Ben and his grandma also do some sightseeing. Such as the Taj Mahal, lots of different temples, and elephants, which are Ben’s favourite!

Ben feels like he has a connection with the elephants and he becomes very interested in Ganesh, a god with the body of a boy but the head of an elephant. Ganesh listens to children and helps them. Ben admires Ganesh very much and he asks Ganesh for help throughout their trip.

But will Ganesh answer Ben? Will they find Shanti, or are they on some wild goose chase? Even if they don’t find Shanti, Ben feels like he’s learned something. And it’s that dying is part of life so he shouldn’t be angry about it and there are just some things in life that can’t be explained.

There’s a theme of adventure throughout the whole book as Ben and his grandma search for Shanti. The book is titled “Follow the Elephant” because they feel like they’ve been following the elephant (Ganesh) everywhere they’ve gone in India and like he’s been helping them.

Christian Perspective:

Throughout the book Ben tries to figure out what happens after death. He hears of reincarnation as he travels through India but he’s not sure if it’s real or not. There are some other Hindu beliefs mentioned in this book and it’s interesting to learn what other people believe. I learned that Christians, and other religions, need to respect other religions beliefs even if they don’t believe in them. Everyone has a right to believe in whatever they want and if you’ve grown up with a certain belief it can be hard to accept something else. Ben never really makes a decision as to what happens after death but he does realize that his dad is everywhere around him. He can see him in different things, such as people. So he doesn’t have to worry about forgetting him.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and it gave some very interesting facts about India and some beliefs of other religions. I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next in the story. I chose this book because it sounded like a really good book and I like learning about other religions and cultures. I’d recommend this book to someone who likes adventure and realistic fiction because this book is both, and to someone who wants to learn about India because the book gives detailed facts about India throughout the story.