Children's Writer, Book Reviewer, Teacher, Artist
Full of adventure, beauty and heart 'The Girl Who Stole an Elephant' is a gorgeous children's book. Nizrana Farook has written an accomplished debut which has the feel of a folktale but with a stampeding, exciting pace.
Chaya is in huge trouble. She's stolen the Queen's jewels! There was a good reason for it but the King isn't going to see that way. Plunged into danger, Chaya and her friends escape into the jungle... on the back of the King's elephant! But their adventure leads them to someone who just might be able to help them get home, and face up to the King to change everything.
Farook writes beautifully. In sparse and pacy prose she is able to evoke the atmosphere of the setting with skill and sumptuousness. Everything hums with life and glitters with colour. The sprinkling of exotic words infused with the directness of her characters works wonders. Chaya is a strong protagonist whose flaws and mistakes make her beautiful and engaging. The stakes are really high for her and even into the final pages I was not sure whether everything would be okay. The pages stampede on - chapters are short and its's so easy to be swept along on the adventure. I wish I had an elephant to get around Watford!
With kings, elephants, bandits and jungle, 'The Girl Who Stole an Elephant' is a perfect folklore-like tale to curl up to during the cold and dark winter months. Soak up the sunshine of this fabulous story from the brilliant Nosy Crow!
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-girl-who-stole-an-elephant/nizrana-farook/9781788006347