Mela and the Elephant

Description

By Dow Humiruk
Illustrated by Ziyue Chen

I LOVE books that teach morals. Mela and the Elephant teaches a life lesson about being kind and expecting no reward in return.

In this cultural Thai fable, Mela refuses to take her little brother exploring because he has nothing in which to pay her and she leaves him behind.

Mela gets lost, leaving her at the mercy of the jungle animals. She offers payment to the animals who promise to take her safely home. They willingly take her payments but never follow through with their promises. The elephant shows Mela that generosity and kindness shouldn’t need payment.

The author provides information at the back of the book about this Thai fable, as well as cultural facts about the country and its people.

I read Mela and the Elephant to my students to teach a lesson about kindness. Don’t judge this book by it’s cover! It is a great read with moral value!