SINGING WITH ELEPHANTS

Carla Corvo dances nimbly between languages in this verse novel about a Cuban immigrant girl who finds her voice in inglés with help from a Nobel laureate and an elephant family. In 1947, Oriol, 11, lives in Santa Barbara, California, where her parents, veterinarians, tend to Hollywood stars' exotic animals--and where Chilean poet, diplomat, and human rights activist Gabriela Mistral is her neighbor. "La poeta famosa" (the story's only historical figure) encourages Oriol's writing and her activism when an egotistical actor inflicts horrific abuse on a baby elephant. As is usually the case with poetry, there is a visual element to the placement of words that narration cannot capture. But Corvo's elephant vocalizations give the audio experience a sonorous depth, and her human characterizations are affecting. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2022]