Elephant Run

by Roland Smith

Book Overview

In this action-packed WWII-era historical fiction novel, bestselling author Roland Smith introduces an oft-ignored aspect of the conflict with stunning detail.

The year is 1941, and bombs are being dropped from the night sky, blanketing the city of London. When fourteen-year-old Nick Freestone's apartment is demolished, his mother decides the situation in England has grown too unstable. Nick will be safer, his mother hopes, living...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1423104021
• ISBN13: 9781423104025
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Captivating!

My daughter age 9 read this book months ago and is still talking about it. She loves Roland Smith's writing and is hooked for life! Great choice for people who love to read.

Elephant Run: By Roland Smith

This story begins when Germany bombed England. Nick Freestone's mother was worried Nick would not be safe in London. Their apartment was just destroyed and she was responsible for finding a new home for them. In the meantime she decided to send Nick to his father in Burma. Jackson Freestone owned the land of Burma and soon would pass it off to Nick. Though Nick's mother was terrified of the dangers in Burma she thought he would be safer there then in London. So she sent Nick off, but what she didn't know was that Nick wouldn't be back for a long, long time. Nick made it to Burma and was in the car with an important man of Burma that worked with his father. He hadn't been to Burma in forever and barely remembered any names. In the car as well was the man's daughter, Mya. She was a pretty girl who loved the elephants that lived in the land and wanted to be a Mahout but girls weren't suppose to do that and this always made Mya very sad. When Nick got to Hawks Nest, the building his father lived in, he looked around but did not see his father. He was gone and was coming back from a trip. All the next day Nick looked around Hawks Nest and the village. He met very important people and learned of the Burmese life. On his way back from exploring he was attacked by the most dangerous elephant, Hannibal. He was dangerous because he was attacked by a tiger and was never the same again. When Jackson Freestone came back he took Nick on a ride throughout the land. During there ride they were invaded by the Japanese who wished to take over. While his dad, Mya, and Indaw, Mya's brother, were captured he hid and tried to escape when he was later captured by a nicer and older Japanese soldier who was not mean to him. His name was Sonji. Nick was then captured, but his father pleaded that the Japanese would take Nick to India where he would be safer. They agreed but did not keep their promise. Jackson was forced to a labor camp wile Nick became a slave and worked around Hawks Nest. He slept in a workers room as big as a closet and could not get much sleep due to Bakong a Japanese man who would slap him with a whip if he was not up in time. Mya was held in better conditions and Bakong wished to marry her since she was the most beautiful. She refused and later with the help of her great-grandfather, the Buddhist monk she escaped along with Nick. They escaped through a passage way in Hawks Nest and there Nick found out that his father was ill and would soon be dying. So the group decided to break out Jackson and Mya's brother. They succeeded and were off to a better place to live. That's where Mya and Nick fell in love. This was an amazing story that kept my attention the whole way through. It was a very suspenseful adventure. The characters were so well described you fell in love with each and every one. I would recommend this story to anyone. It has a little bit of everything in it, love, adventure, mystery, and suspense. I hope everyone enjoys it just as m

Ryan from Lake Tapps says "this is the best book ever!"

Do you want to read the best book you will ever read in your life time well than read Elephant run it is an awesome book that you will never want to put down Elephant run is a very good book made by Roland smith this is one of my favorite historical fiction book if ever read and it is only 318 pages My favorite part of the book is when Nick, Mya and hilltop dress up as novice monks so they can sneak out of the camp there in This is a great book about a fourteen year old kid named Nick who goes to visit his father in another country while were his lives is being bombed then the Japanese take over the teak plantation were his dad lives. Nick got separated from his dad and nick tried to go and escape to find his dad but you will have read this book to know what happens. You might also like Sasquatch or thunder cave I think this book is for anybody who wants to read an action packed story that is ten or older.

loved this book

I am a mother of four children under 14, and always looking for well written historical fiction for my boys. My 10 year old needs the action in a book to start pretty quickly, or he will lose interest. I just finished reading this today, and I can't wait for him to read it. Smith is able to take a fairly complex subject, and make it interesting, and understandable, while teaching the reader a piece of the history of Burma during WWII. By the middle of this book, I could not put it down, I was so anxious to discover the outcome of Nick Freestone's fate. Fantastic!

Exciting WWII historical fiction for middle-grade readers

ELEPHANT RUN is an exciting, historical adventure novel that will appeal to all middle grade readers (and their parents!). In 1941, Nick Freestone joins his estranged father at the family plantation in Burma to escape the bombs falling on England. Instead of finding refuge, he is plunged into the Japanese invasion of Burma. With the help of his young friend, Mya, Nick tries to learn more about the timber elephants trained on the plantation. Mya, a girl who hopes to become an elephant trainer, or "mahout," barely has time to show Nick around the plantation before Nick's father is taken prisoner by the Japanese. With Japanese soldiers in charge of the family home, Nick becomes an unwilling servant of the Japanese. But there are hidden passageways in the house, and soon Mya and Nick have found a way to escape into the jungle, riding on the back of a much-feared rogue elephant named Hannibal. For readers who've already exhausted the many books about WWII in Europe, this book offers a view of the war in Asia. While the book is mainly about Nick and Mya, readers will see multi-dimensional Japanese, Burmese, and British characters and learn more about life in Burma before and during the war. Issues of colonialism, foreign exploitation, and the desire for Burmese independence are introduced by the various characters who people the story, but the novel is focused primarily on Nick and Mya's need to escape from their Japanese captors. The elephants are part of the story as well, with Hannibal and Miss Pretty representing some of the many elephants trained to work British plantations in Burma. Fast-paced action drives this story forward, with historical details supporting the action. Nick's father is sent to work on the infamous Japanese railroad, and the story provides a look inside the labor camps. History never slows the action, but information about the Japanese invasion and Burmese reaction abound in the story. Teachers may want to use this story to draw reluctant readers into learning more about World War II in Asia. Be sure to have a map or atlas handy as you'll want to look up the places named in the story. Readers will be sure to want to learn more about elephants and "mahouts" after reading this novel. War Elephants makes good companion reading. If you like fast-paced adventure novels, stories of World War II, or historical novels, you'll enjoy this exciting novel. My only complaint was the quick resolution at the end -- I would have liked to read more about Nick's actual escape and journey to Australia, but that would take another novel. Let's hope the author is planning to write more about Nick and Mya!