Elephant+Run

Elephant Run is about a boy named Nick who had to go to Burma (to live with his father) during World War II. The first day he found Hannibal and the elaphant throw Nick to the grown. The Japanese have come to Hawk's Nest (where they live) and have taken Nick's father to a labor camp. Nick, Mya, and Hilltop stayed at Hawk's Nest. Hilltop is a very old monk who could talk to elephants, and the elephants listened to him. Those three wanted to escape so they could rescue Indaw (Mya's brother) and Nick's dad. They hid in little secret rooms inside of Hawk's Nest until Hilltop said it was ready for them to escape. They filled their bags with tons of canned food and headed off. Hilltop made them shave their heads and eyebrows and wear monk clothes so they could be disguised as monks. They rode on an elephant named Hannibal and everyone was afraid of it. When they got to Indaw and Jackson Freestone's (Nick's dad) camp, they found out that Jackson was very weak and ill. But they managed to rescue him after Sonji (a nice Japanese soldier) helped them out by burying Jackson (he was pretending to be dead), but letting him breathe out of a bamboo cross. They all escaped. While they were taking a break, Bukong and other bad Japanese soldiers found them. They tried to take them away but the elaphant, Hannibal killed the soldiers with the help of Bernard (Nick's step-dad). Hilltop decided to not go to Australia but to stay in Burma with Hannibal. The others made it safely to Australia. Nick's eighteenth birthday present was Hannibal's iron bell.

This book takes place in Burma. It is different from the U.S. They ride elephants and take care of them. They live in bamboo houses that can rebuild quickly. The houses are filled with lizards and snakes and other creatures. -Trevor

The culture of Burma is a lot different than the culture of the United States. In Burma, they ride elephants to get to places. In America, we usually use vehicles to get to places. They live in houses above ground to avoid snakes and other creatures. Both men and women wear these things called a longyi (a skirt type thing). I am glad that I don't live in Burma! -Kendra W.

The people of Burma are very different from us in the United States. They use different words than us. Mahout is an elephant rider and trainer. Koongyi is an elephant. Their houses are on stilts because of snakes and monsoons. The have teak plantations where they harvest wood and use elephants to move the wood. Burma is a very different place from the United States. Colton

I learned about the culture of Burmese in this book. They ride elephants and take care of them. They also have mahouts, people who train the elaphants. In Burma, guys are a little more important than girls, because only guys could be mahouts. They also have monks who can only eat once a day. They live in more of a forested area, and we live in the city or country. -Chanda Z.

I learned a lot about the Burmese from this book. There work is all about using elephants to do stuff for them. They are used to carry trees and haul heavy loads. Their are special people who are the only ones allowed to drive the elephants, these people are called mahouts. Only men can be mahouts and usually if your dad is a mahout you will probably will become a mahout. -Tanner H.

I would recommend this book to people who like action in it. It goes fast if you like it. The book has some detail. The book has lots of surprises through the whole book-Trevor

I would recommend this book to a lot of people! It has a lot of dialogue and that makes it go really fast. I would also recommend this book because it has a lot of suspense and action. It is a really good book and easy to read! -Kendra W.

I would recommend this book to a friend. This book was not very exciting until the Japanese come. The book is filled with suspence, surprises, and deception. It doesn't turn out how I thought it would. It is a fast read. Colton

I would definitely recommend this book. To me there were no boring parts. I learned a lot about World War II, and also how different the Burmese culture was. It was a very fast read, and I always wanted to keep reading. It also had a lot of action and dialogue. I like dialogue because it goes faster than paragraphs with no dialogue. It was very good! -Chanda Z.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This is a action packed book, but you also learn a lot about this certain culture. I kept on wanting to go to the next page to see what happened to them. -Tanner H.