Becs's Reviews > Ernest the Elephant

I think I see what Anthony Browne is trying to do with Ernest the Elephant - why not celebrate little minds wandering towards big adventures? Little Ernest is certainly curious about the world around him, especially the jungle and especially when the other members of the herd are only mildly interesting most of the time.

The trouble is, he sometimes finds himself a bit scared and lost when he travels away from the path. I really liked that he took risks and explored as young people (and elephants) certainly should and I think his fears and awe are quite realistic, but I would have loved for Browne to stick with the theme of encouraging young minds to explore and engage with the world around them, not to be afraid of it, and I’m not sure this really accomplished that.

Regardless, the illustrations are quite nice and much less abstract than some of Browne’s other work, which I liked, but there was definitely something missing.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.