Books about elephants

Last year my younger sister, who has always loved elephants, gave me the book "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I really enjoyed the book, as it was one that I couldn't wait to finish but also dreaded finishing because I didn't want to leave the characters. There was something about elephants that made the book totally intriguing.

This week when I was out shopping, I came across another book about another elephant -- "Hannah's Dream" by Diane Hammond. I read the blurb and thought it sounded like it would be another "Water for Elephants," but was worried my expectations for a novel about elephants would be too high and that I would be disappointed if it didn't live up to Gruen's story.

Then yesterday I was listening to NPR's broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU in Washington, D.C., and one of the guests was Hammond, discussing "Hannah's Dream." I was fascinated by the conversation. Hammond had worked with Keiko, the killer whale from the "Free Willy" movies, and she had amazing stories about the gentle giant, his habit of watching TV and communicating with the rehabilitation staff. She translated her experience into "Hannah's Dream" after seeing a video clip of a man taking an elephant that he had taken care of for 22 years to an elephant sanctuary. Hammond's story was very touching, and the novel she wrote must be, too -- she said during the interview that only one of 11 people in her family who read the book did not cry at the ending.

Now I am really looking forward to buying "Hannah's Dream" and sharing it with my sister, who first piqued my interest in books about elephants.

If you are interested in hearing the interview with Hammond that was broadcast on WAMU, you can find the Realtime Player audio here and the Windows Media audio here.