Based on a true story, Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave is the incredible story of an orphaned elephant calf. Having escaped the poachers who killed her mother, Paseka now faces other dangers in the African savanna. But when she mistakes a safari jeep for her mother, the miraculous happens. Even once Paseka discovers it’s a jeep, she keeps following it, right into camp! There, humans transfer her to an elephant rehabilitation center where brave little Paseka finds a new family.

Author Ruth James’s involvement in the African Children’s Book Box Society (www.africanbookbox.org) 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.

Illustrated by: Kent Laforme