Elephant Rock

by Caroline MacDonald

Twelve-year-old Ann is staying in a beach-house, on the west coast of New Zealand, with her mother, who is dying. While Ann tries to cope with the misery she feels, something strange begins to happen to her - time begins to backtrack across itself and Ann seems to exist for brief moments as her mother when she was a girl. These mysterious events seem somehow connected with the brooding presence of Elephant Rock.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Born in New Zealand, Caroline Macdonald moved to Australia in 1982 and passed away in Adelaide, South Australia.

She wrote mostly fantasy and science fiction for older children and young adults and her stories were often set in New Zealand or Australia.

Reviews

[Tui Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic time-travelling story where a dying mother seems to communicate with her young daughter via time travel/body-swap. Very gripping. Caroline MacDonald is one of my favourite authors for children this age. The story deals with death, one of the hardest issues to confront in children's lit. But it does it sensitively and I think this story might help a child who is having to deal with a death in their own family.

For even younger children facing the death of someone close to them, a favourite is Joy Cowley's "The Well" a story in her anthology of stories called "Beyond the River."