In Price's first book for young readers, an exceptional boy rediscovers life after his mother's death. Ben loves elephants, a passion he shared with his mother. At a circus, Ben finally meets his first live pachyderm, Sal. Through his unique ability to communicate with animals, he discovers that Sal is also grieving over the death of loved ones, a profound experience that helps Ben reach out to others and move on. The book is set early in the twentieth century, and its nostalgia may jar contemporary readers: the kids play Indian Braves, painting their faces with red clay, for example. And as in his adult fiction, Price's characters speak in a mannered style that may put off children who demand immediate, realistic dialogue and high-action plots. But the story is filled with a beautiful, subtle mysticism (Ben's quiet exchange of thoughts with animals; the appearance of his mother's spirit at his bedroom window) that's presented as both true and reassuring. Strong readers who know loss or imagine the inner lives of animals will be stirred by this layered, challenging novel.

Eleven-year-old Benjamin Laughinghouse Barks loves elephants. Esteemed author Reynolds Price's provocative first novel for children fleshes out this boy's obsession in compelling, sensuous detail. However, Ben's feelings for his mother, who died a year ago, and his feelings for elephants form a mystical mélange that may be too cryptic for most young readers to sort through.

In this dreamy, allusive tale from a distinguished writer for adults, grief loses its clutches on a boy's heart thanks to time, loyal friends, and a healing encounter with a circus elephant. The strong affinity for elephants Ben shared with his mother has, if anything, intensified in the year since her death. The news that a circus is coming to town throws him into a fever of excitement, though being a reserved, inward sort, he shows it largely by snubbing his friends Dunk and Robin, feeling that sharing the performance risks spoiling it. The small circus arrives at last, with one elephant: Sala, the sad sole survivor of a quartet that, Ben learns, was poisoned recently by a cruel trainer. Ben talks his way into Sala's private tent and has an epiphany when she picks him up with her trunk and sets him on her back. Price is less a storyteller here than a studier of character, and much of what does happen has a mystical air or is freighted with an indistinct significance. Ben treats Dunk and Robin so badly—even his kind, grieving father accuses him of being coldhearted—that readers won't always like him, but since he's so obviously in pain they may forgive him, and applaud his friends for sticking with him. Still, most children will labor to finish this. (Fiction. 11-13)

Gr 4-7-Ben Laughinghouse Barks adored his mother. She taught him to love elephants, long before he saw one. They drew pictures of them together. Now that she has died, he is left with a father, a cousin, and a friend, and struggles with his grief. He feels that he will never be happy again, and remains remote and alone in spite of their presence. He finds a perfect friend in an elephant named Sala, the greatest possession of a visiting one-ring circus. Ben finds that he can communicate with her, and they become trusty companions. Through this relationship, the boy begins to work through his sadness and is able to tell his mother about Sala when she presents herself to him in a dream. Ben tells her about his new hope and recent luck of finding his perfect friend and explains that he can now grow to be a trustworthy man with a useful job and a family. The mood is set from the start and the narrative maintains it throughout. It has a cadence of stepping footstep by footstep through Ben's life. Readers know that everything will come together and hear (rather than see) the story unfold. Unfortunately, the story is told in an adult voice, and from an adult perspective, rather than that of an 11-year-old, and it's unlikely that young readers will relate to Ben or feel his attachment to Sala.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.