The Elephant in the Room

Author : Holly Goldberg Sloan

Genre : Children’s Books

This is a fun book to read to or with elementary-age children or grandchildren. It’s an emotional story about injustice and the capacity of animals to ease our pain. Sila is American-born to parents who sought asylum from Turkey. They live in Oregon where her father works as a mechanic and her mother does housekeeping for a nice hotel. In school she becomes friends with Mateo, who struggles to fit in. Circumstances change when her mother is deported to Turkey and has to renew her papers. Events begin to change when Sila and her father meet Gio, who rescues an elephant from a circus that is closing its doors. There are some surprising moments as Gio, Sila, and Mateo manage the animals that eventually includes eight flamingos.