Elephant and Bird
Sally Hinkley
North Street Book Prize 2023 (view all the winners)
Honorable Mention, Middle Grade
Critique by Jendi Reiter
Sally Hinkley's middle-grade novel Elephant and Bird is a charming tale of friendship across generations and species. The titular Bird is an orphaned 11-year-old girl living in her quirky grandmother's old Victorian boardinghouse, which doubles as a hospice residence for a handful of elderly folks who "can't or won't follow the rules" at the local nursing home. At the moment, though, there's only one resident, and he's even lonelier than Bird.
Meanwhile, Pearl, the elephant, yearns to escape her mistreatment by the carnival that's traveling through Bird's town. Her sympathetic trainer is no substitute for the company of her own species. Taken from her herd in India as a baby 39 years ago, Pearl has almost ceased to believe that her memories are real until she spots another elephant in a different carnival's vehicle on the highway.
When Pearl gets loose, Bird thinks she has a way to help everyone, but she might be putting them in danger instead.
The narrative voice, point of view, and length of this novel were right on target for the age group. The elderly characters were portrayed with respect and realism. Elephant and Bird isn't as dark as Roald Dahl stories can be, but I found myself thinking of the grandmother in Dahl's The Witches and the widowed father in Danny, the Champion of the World who nurture the child protagonists while giving them more freedom than traditional parents. The story's resolution is believable and heartwarming.
Present-tense narration can be difficult to pull off at book-length, because a novel involves a wider span of time than a short story. Even when the primary action takes place over a brief period, novels have to refer to past events in backstory, to flesh out the characters and their scenario. Because of this, it's easy for errors in verb tense to creep in. Elephant and Bird had a number of these. Also, a character's reappearance towards the end of the book felt too coincidental.
The book design was lovely and inviting, with a cozy blue-and-yellow cover featuring a painting of an elephant reaching her trunk up to the window of a little girl's house. It reminded me of a Kate DiCamillo book. The interior was professionally laid out in a readable typeface. The sturdy paperback cover held up well during reading.
Elephant and Bird is a great book about bereavement, friendship, and kindness. Kids and adults will find a lot to enjoy here.
