Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Grade: A
Recommended to all fans of Dumbo and those who enjoy nonfiction and science.
Thanks to the good folks at Net Galley and Lerner Publishing for the advance read of Elephant Talk. While Net Galley has this tagged as a YA nonfiction book, this definitely has adult appeal. Elephant Talk is packed full of gorgeous photographs and equally packed full of information. This book would have come in super handy during my high school speech class and freshman college biology class. The cover grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it and of course I cannot pass up a book about animals, wild or domesticated. How well this book would look on an e-reader, I don't know as it is books like this that make reading a traditional bound book so much fun.
What I loved besides the stunning pictures of some of the cutest wild animals was the amount of information that was included in the book, and that the writing was not dumbed down for a younger audience. There was info that was new to me like the genetic differences between elephants previously thought to be the same species. We learn about African elephants both the Savannah and Forest Elephant species and their differences not only genetically but also in the color of their tusks. In my ignorance I had just assumed that those elephants with pink tusks had rubbed on something, not that their tusks turn pink because of the minerals in the mud that they consume. The feminist in me loved learning that elephant herds are led by females while the herbalist in me thoroughly enjoyed the info about using certain plants as natural antacids. We also learn that social animals live longer and have larger brains than other more reclusive animals. What was very briefly touched upon that I wish had gone into more depth was the grieving process of elephants. I had seen this on the Animal Planet or National Geographic channel previously and found it quite touching. When a member of the herd dies, the other members will stand by in a vigil of sorts and pay their respects by touching the recently deceased. This book mentions elephants touching the bones of fallen ones, related or not.
Trunks are discussed in some depth pertaining to their enormous musculature, more than humans have in our entire bodies. Elephant handshakes , trunk wrestling and trunk spanking were discussed. New to me was the fact that baby elephants sometimes suck their trunks much like human babies suck their thumbs. Information that was really detailed was that of infrasonic sounds which could have been its own book. Prior to reading this book, I did not know that elephants used this type of sound to communicate with each other. What is most importantly discussed is how humans are directly responsible for the decrease in elephant population from habitat destruction to poaching.
Overall this book was fabulous and taught me quite a few new things about those fascinating pachyderms known as elephants from the history and evolution to their genetic differences and social norms. There were sections I wish were more elaborate and others that could be their own books, but the photography more than makes up for any flaw. At the end of the book, lots of wonderful links are provided for more info on what we can do to help the elephant population and links for further research. There is a sentence early on that says elephants are built to learn and we are just scratching the surface of the ways in which they communicate. Here's hoping for many more books like this to come. What is abundantly clear is that elephants are highly intelligent animals.
Author blog: http://anndowner.blogspot.com/ also http://anndowner.wordpress.com/
Buy the book https://www.lernerbooks.com/products/t/11278/9780761357667/elephant-talk
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