The boy and the elephant by Freya Blackwood

A lonely boy lives in an apartment building in the city. Evocative pencil and watercolour illustrations cover the first few pages, revealing his routinely solitary life. Alone, he  gets out of bed, dressing himself and getting ready for school, no one else in evidence, hurrying by himself through the noisy streets filled with people, cars and trams, sitting by himself in the playground once he gets to his inner city school surrounded by concrete. At home dad works in the study, no time for the forlorn lad fending for himself. He makes his tea and takes a tray to the lot next door to sit with his friends. The stunning illustrations paint a sadness, an uninterrupted loneliness encompassing the boy’s life. We feel his loneliness, his anonymity in the crowds: home and school devoid of any comfort.

But next door is an overgrown space where he goes to read and visit.

Blackwood weaves the trees into shapes of animals that befriend him, animals that comfort him in his solitary life. And readers will all breath a sigh of relief: he is not alone. But another twist appears as the block of land is sold and each tree marked with a cross, ready to be cut down.  Readers will gasp in horror with the boy as he sees what will happen, appalled that his friends should be destroyed. Blackwood’s illustrations lead the reader to feel with the child as he ponders what to do. And he finds a solution.

Blackwood’s amazing images are outstanding. Out of a forest of captivating images, several stand out for me: the elephant is part of the tree the boy sits beneath, the foliage coming together to make his shape, the pale greens contrasting with the night views as the trees escape the developers, their shadows looming against the blues of the buildings at night. And I love the looks inside the boy’s house, the stairs, detritus, the bedroom with the things he loves.
His loneliness is palpable, and all readers will have heart stopping moments as the tale unfolds. Every page held me, as it will for every one who reads it.

Blackwood’s work is a meld of softness and hardness: we see hints of a broader environmental theme - the destruction of habitats, contrasting with the heart stopping images of a lonely boy doing what he can to save it. This gentle wordless picture book shows that we can all take a stand. 

Themes: Friendship, Loneliness, Animals, Family, School, Environment, Habitat, Demolition, Change, Wordless picture book.

Fran Knight