Book description
Ben is in the bush with his game-warden father. They see a family of
elephants in distress, led by Kubwa and her daughter, Temba. Having
survived a crocodile attack, Temba's calf has fallen into swamp mud and
is drowning. The elephants struggle to rescue him. Ben gathers his
courage for a crawl over treacherous mud to attach straps while his
father winches the elephant out. Temba learns the smell of these humans
who helped, and the elephants move on.
But ivory poachers attack, kill Kubwa, cut off her tusks and depart.
Temba is now leader: she gathers the others to perform funeral rites.
Ben and his father stumble into the poachers' camp and are taken
prisoner. Only Ben's link with Temba can save them now ... Geoffrey
Malone spent most of his childhood in Africa, where he managed to avoid
any formal education until the age of eleven. After school in England,
he joined the army for sixteen years, then worked and travelled in North
America. He became a broadcaster and wrote his first book about his
nearest neighbours, a family of beavers: 'Brunner'. He lives happily in
London with his wife and their cocker spaniel, Harriett, and advises
charities dedicated to the preservation of endangered species. He has
won the Children's Book of the Year prize in the French 'Tam-Tam, j'aime
lire' competition, and the 'Prix Enfant-Grandparent Europeen' for 'Torn
Ear'. He was also recently shortlisted for the Stockton Award for
'Elephant Ben'.
