Shennen Bersani's Weblog: Once Upon an Elephant now available

My newest illustrated book, Once Upon an Elephant, written by Linda Stanek and published by Arbordale, is now available. You might like to check it out over at Arbordale, or on Amazon.

Here is what one Amazon reviewer had to say:

"Once Upon an Elephant is a beautiful look at the way these large, lumbering creatures affect all of the other creatures in the great Savannah. Told through gentle repetitive phrasing and soft expansive illustrations, you can feel the slow movement of the elephants as they shape the world around them. Elephants are able to adapt the world every day with their tusks, their trunks, their footprints and even their dung. The impact that they make and the animals they help, so wonderfully described throughout the book, are in great danger as elephants grow closer to extinction. A powerful message and elegant book about these great animals."

To properly illustrate these majestic animals I visited the three lovely African ladies, Alice, Ginny, and Kate, at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. I also stopped by the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, to help round out my hometown "African Safari". There visitors can see a lion, while both zoos bring a piece of Africa to New Englanders by having zebras, giraffes, wild birds, plus many other species. Both zoos are a lovely day field trip for both young and old.

Here are some coloring pages to go along with the book.