The World’s Loneliest Elephant: Based on the True Story of Kaavan and His Rescue

Gr 1-4–Kaavan was just a baby elephant when he was taken from his home and moved into the Margahazar Zoo, as a birthday gift. After 35 years in horrible conditions and losing the love of his life to illness, Kaavan was labelled the world’s loneliest elephant. Thankfully, some very dedicated activists and one veterinarian were able to change that. Fletcher tells the touching story of Kaavan in an easy-to-understand and kind way. The vocabulary includes a few more challenging words, but is mostly simple, and the typeface is accessible for emerging readers. The tale is well paced and focuses more on the events that led to Kaavan’s new life than the abuses of his earlier years. Stoop’s illustrations help show the reality Kaavan faced, depicting the people involved accurately in beautiful gouache scenes. From the horrors of the zoo to the activists and kindness of Dr. Amir, every part of Kaavan’s story is clear and made personable, with a note at the end that supplies more specific facts about what really happened. Together Fletcher and Stoop have brought a lesson home, showing the importance of individual and group action, and the true story of an elephant now living his best life on a reserve.