Elephant Quest

by Ted Lewin

Ted and Betsy Lewin arrive in the Okavango Delta of Botswana in February -- the rainy season. Because there is always water in the delta, it is rich in animal hippos, Cape buffalo, lions, leopards, wildebeest, lechwe, giraffes, and some seventy thousand elephants! It is the elephants that Ted and Betsy have especially come to see. As they make their way through the flooded grasslands,they encounter impalas, baboons, wild dogs, and a huge crocodile--but where are the elephants hiding? In Elephant Quest, Ted's realistic paintings and Betsy's field sketches illuminate the real-life adventure story of this exhilarating and often dangerous trip to the Moremi Reserve. Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 2001--selected by Natn'l Science Tchrs Assoc. & Child. Bk Cncl.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2000

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a work of nonfiction. The story follows the five day trek of Ted and Betsy Lewin in the Moremi Reserve in Africa. The trip explored in this book is a trip to find and study wild elephants. the plot follows Ted and Betsy as they encounter all sorts of African wildlife. They come face to face with a lion, have a brush with wild dogs, observe buffalo, meet leopard and observe many other animals until finally finding the elephants on day five. The artwork on the pages of this book is absolutely a treat to look at for child and adult. I would use this book for a science unit, possibly a 2nd or third grade unit, exploring ecosystems and habitats. The text is long enough to read throughout a week, I might consider this for a five day unit, and read each day of the five day trip in the book, monday thru friday. At the end of the book, the Lewins include a page of scientific information on elephants , such as diet, weight, life span, gestation period, social aspects of elephants and more. This could be used as a model for a report, a teacher could have students do, which could be modified for specific grade levels. Students will be asking to look at the book during free reading because of the pictures and detail of the animals. I recommend this book for the classroom applications. Personally it is added to the list of books I would like to buy.

[Megan Mccale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives great detail about a five day quest for an elephant. It would be an excellent book for a child to use for a report. At the end of book it gives a description of elephants that children could use.