Loosely based on a true story, Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave is the incredible story of an orphaned elephant calf. Alone, the little elephant Paseka, faces an attack by a hungry hyena clan. Just at the last moment she catches sight of a big safari vehicle making its way towards her. Was it her mother? Fortuitously, she kept following it, right into camp! There, humans transfer her to an elephant rehabilitation center where the brave little Paseka searches for acceptance. She meets the massive matriarch and learns what it means to be welcomed into a new elephant community. Author Ruth James’s involvement in the African Children’s Book Box Society inspired her to write Paseka. Through the society, portable libraries of African literature in Book Boxes are distributed to local schools, primarily in Tanzania.

Told from Paseka’s point of view, the story raises important issues about the interaction between humans and wildlife, and our role in its protection and conservation. It also encourages empathy, so often the catalyst for positive change. While written to create African literature for African children, the book’s relevance is universal.

Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave by Ruth James
Published by Page Two Books
Hardcover 10” x 10” / 32pp
Age Range: 6 – 8 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3
ISBN: 978-1989025420

Ruth James is a former school teacher who loves children’s literature. She is a director on the board of the African Children’s Book Box Society. The society, which began as a literacy project in Kenya, now works mainly in Tanzania, providing portable libraries of books by African authors to schools that have few storybooks and even fewer featuring African children.

Kent Laforme is a stone carver who loves to draw. In fact, he’s loved drawing and stones all his life and they are the foundation of his artwork While illustrating the book, Kent stumbled upon a 15,000lb (almost 7,000kg) boulder that looked very much like an elephant, and was instantly inspired to create a sculpture of Paseka. If you want to check out Kent’s work, please visit kentlaforme.com.