The Elephant’s New Shoe, by Laurel Neme, is a non-fiction picture book about a young elephant in the forests of Cambodia who lost its foot in a snare trap. When he as found, he was thin and suffering tremendous pain. His rescuers nursed his wound and took care of him, but were afraid that he would die soon. However, this little elephant had both courage and a great will to live, and when his rescuers saw his fighting spirit, they worked to find a way to help him become a whole elephant again. They began to design a “shoe” that would enable him to walk again. This account of Chhouk’s healing and recovery, and the attempts to make a comfortable shoe for an elephant, is a warm and heartfelt story.

In the forward to the book, Nick Marx, the man who rescued this little elephant, wrote:

We must not forget that animals have feelings, too. Baby elephants are like children and need love if they are to grow up happy and strong. Please remember this and try to conserve wild animals. They may look a little different, but they are people, too! We should leave them in the forest where they belong, not capture them in snares, put them in cages, or keep them as pets.

This book jumped out at me as I was browsing through the library this week. When my focus and emotional energies are drained, I find solace in reading children’s books, and this little book touched my heart.