Queenie: One Elephant's Story

Gr 1–3—As a baby elephant, Queenie was stolen from her mother in India and transported to the Melbourne Zoo. At the age of nine, she was trained to carry passengers on her back for almost 40 years. Intelligent and well loved, Queenie was the main attraction at the zoo and an icon in Melbourne until she crushed one of her keepers in 1944. Whether it was an accident or not will never be known, but the tragedy, paired with a wartime food shortage, marked the end for Queenie, who was put to sleep in the summer of 1945. The truth is hard, and this historical tale is filled with sadness. The final spread introduces the natural habitat now provided for elephants at Melbourne Zoo and invites readers to remember Queenie in happier times in her native India. Hauntingly beautiful illustrations capture the time period and the affection and admiration bestowed upon her. Though the plight of decades of zoo animals can be found here, this is also a story about the love for one memorable animal. This title would best be shared with a caring adult with plenty of conversation to follow.—Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MN