Incredible Jumbo

Jean Free, a library consultant, was an elementary-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Smucker’s award-winning new book about the most famous elephant in
captivity is based on fact, with the added interest of poverty-stricken
Molly Tolliver and her son Tod. The young boy, determined to follow in
his father’s footsteps as a clown, fell in love with Jumbo at the
London Zoo and followed him to America. Jumbo was adored by thousands of
children in London before he became part of P.T. Barnum’s travelling
circus. Tod’s love for the giant mammal makes a moving story.

Smucker wrote this book in her usual competently researched and
insightful way, showing the growth of a young man’s character as he
accepts responsibility and learns to be a survivor. This makes an
excellent read-aloud story for parents and teachers of junior students.
It could lead to thoughtful discussions about animal life in captivity,
about child labor and poverty a century ago, and about dedication to an
ideal. Surely Incredible Jumbo is destined to become a classic animal
story for young people.